A suicide bomber walked into the Karbala-e-Moulla Imambargah in Shikarpur on January 30, killing 60 worshipers in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the Sindh’s recent history. With 300 worshipers praying inside, the compound collapsed with the explosion.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, it is “a new phenomenon that threatens centuries of pluralism and tolerance”. He said his government would do its best to find the orchestrators of the attack.
“It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in Karachi but did not visit Shikarpur to meet the families of the victims,” says opposition leader Khurseed Shah.
“We would never have expected such an incident in Shikarpur,” said Ali Raza, who was injured in the attack. “This cannot have been done by a local.”
According historians, the city of Shikarpur became the financial capital of the region during the Kalhora rule in the 18th Century – a key trade hub between central and south Asia. An important center of literature and culture, Shikarpur has a long standing tradition of interfaith harmony.
But a recent survey carried out by Sindh Home Ministry said that 2,161 of the 12,545 madrassas in the province were sectarian and dangerous.
Militant organization Jandullah, which had claimed responsibility for last year’s Wagah border bombing in which 60 people were killed, said it had carried out the attack. In November, their spokesman Fahad Marwat said an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria delegation had visited Balochistan province to see how it could unite Pakistan’s various militant groups and work with them.
“We are seing a new trend – elements of ISIS are working with Jandullah and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and their new target is Sindh,” says an intelligence source. “It seems that the suicide attacker came from Balochistan.”
Recently, the provincial government of Balochistan sent an intelligence report to the federal interior minister about footprints of ISIS in the province. “It has been reliably learnt that [ISIS] has offered LeJ, Jandullah and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat to join hands with them in Pakistan. They have formed a ten member strategic planning wing [for this purpose],” reported the Home and Tribal Affairs Department of Balochistan. A number of key Taliban commanders have pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in the last few months, including their spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.
After the Shikarpur attack, two local policemen were dismissed for negligence, and the Sindh police chief formed a team consisting of two SSPs to investigate the incident.
A counter-terrorism team of officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also visited the site of the attack on Saturday and spoke to witnesses.
Police officials say the attackers suicide vest had been filled with ball bearings to magnify the impact of the blast. Initial investigation has revealed that the five to seven kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, a parliamentarian belonging to the PML-F, blamed the provincial government for the attack, saying it raised serious concerns about the performance of the Sindh’s intelligence agencies.
MQM legislator Saman Jafri said the government should have carried out Jandullah chief Ataur Rehman’s hanging to discourage sectarian terrorist groups.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, it is “a new phenomenon that threatens centuries of pluralism and tolerance”. He said his government would do its best to find the orchestrators of the attack.
“It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in Karachi but did not visit Shikarpur to meet the families of the victims,” says opposition leader Khurseed Shah.
“We would never have expected such an incident in Shikarpur,” said Ali Raza, who was injured in the attack. “This cannot have been done by a local.”
According historians, the city of Shikarpur became the financial capital of the region during the Kalhora rule in the 18th Century – a key trade hub between central and south Asia. An important center of literature and culture, Shikarpur has a long standing tradition of interfaith harmony.
But a recent survey carried out by Sindh Home Ministry said that 2,161 of the 12,545 madrassas in the province were sectarian and dangerous.
Militant organization Jandullah, which had claimed responsibility for last year’s Wagah border bombing in which 60 people were killed, said it had carried out the attack. In November, their spokesman Fahad Marwat said an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria delegation had visited Balochistan province to see how it could unite Pakistan’s various militant groups and work with them.
“We are seing a new trend – elements of ISIS are working with Jandullah and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and their new target is Sindh,” says an intelligence source. “It seems that the suicide attacker came from Balochistan.”
Recently, the provincial government of Balochistan sent an intelligence report to the federal interior minister about footprints of ISIS in the province. “It has been reliably learnt that [ISIS] has offered LeJ, Jandullah and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat to join hands with them in Pakistan. They have formed a ten member strategic planning wing [for this purpose],” reported the Home and Tribal Affairs Department of Balochistan. A number of key Taliban commanders have pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in the last few months, including their spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.
"ISIS elements are working with Jandullah and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi"
After the Shikarpur attack, two local policemen were dismissed for negligence, and the Sindh police chief formed a team consisting of two SSPs to investigate the incident.
A counter-terrorism team of officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also visited the site of the attack on Saturday and spoke to witnesses.
Police officials say the attackers suicide vest had been filled with ball bearings to magnify the impact of the blast. Initial investigation has revealed that the five to seven kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, a parliamentarian belonging to the PML-F, blamed the provincial government for the attack, saying it raised serious concerns about the performance of the Sindh’s intelligence agencies.
MQM legislator Saman Jafri said the government should have carried out Jandullah chief Ataur Rehman’s hanging to discourage sectarian terrorist groups.