Pakistan's Shia minority Muslims remain subject to attacks by terrorists of Al Qaeda, Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Is ISI a silent accomplice?

Terrorists of Taliban cum Sipah-e-Sahabah kill one Shia, injure another and kidnap three. (Jang, News update, 15 Dec 2008)



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On December 5, an explosives-packed vehicle was detonated in the heart of Peshawar city, killing more than 33 people and injuring over 80 people. The target was worship place of Shiite Muslims and a hotel owned by an influential person belonging to Kurram Agency.

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Peshawar bomb blast in pictures (Source: BBC Urdu dot com).


main kis kay haath pay apna lahoo talash karoon?


Why did the Pakistani media underplay this incident? Why did not Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Hamid Gul, Ansar Abbasi, Kashif Abbasi, Hamid Mir, Shahid Masood, and Mushtaq Minhas condemn terrorists of Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba for this heinous act of violence? Why are ordinary Pakistanis silent on these acts of sectarian violence.


Denial, opportunism, fascist populism and hypocrisy, it seems, have no limits in Pakistan.


Their crime? They are Shia Muslims, who are, according to the evil ideology of Al Qaeda, Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba, "worse than Hindus, Jews and Christians".

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Death toll from Peshawar blast 34, probe begins

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: The death toll from Friday’s car bomb explosion outside an imambargah in Peshawar has risen to 34 as officials said police had launched an investigation into the attack.

Rescue workers retrieved nine more dead bodies from the debris on Saturday, SP Chaudary Asharf told Daily Times, but put the death toll at 29.

According to Lady Reading Hospital’s records, 165 victims of the blast were taken to the hospital and 34 of them were dead, while 131 were injured. Around 90 people – with 10 in critical condition – are now being treated at the hospital, the remaining have been discharged.

Twenty-one bodies have so far been identified, while 13 bodies burnt beyond recognition are being kept at the hospital’s morgue.

Most of those who died or were injured were residents of Parachinar in Kurram Agency. The imambargah, Alamdar Karbala, is also known as ‘the imambargah of Parachinar’.

Mohammad Asif, a resident of the area, told Daily Times his 12-year-old daughter died in the blast, and his house had been completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, a senior police official told Daily Times it was not yet clear whether a timed-device was placed in the car or a suicide bomber carried out the attack.

He said that the police had collected severed parts of around 10 bodies, and it was therefore difficult to say with certainty what method had been employed by the attackers.

Police officials going through the debris found the engine of the car used in the attack, and said they were trying to locate the owner of the vehicle.

Teams from the Federal Investigation Agency’s Special Investigation Group visited the site on Saturday to collect evidence.

A bomb disposal squad official told Daily Times that the vehicle was carrying more than 80 kilogrammes of explosives. (Daily Times, 7 Dec 2008)

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‘Peshawar blast conspiracy to spark sectarian violence’

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: Perpetrators of the Friday’s terrorist act in Peshawar failed to achieve their aim to ignite sectarian violence in the city, officials told Daily Times on Saturday.

“The target was well-chosen and the attack was part of the series of blasts carried out in Hashtnagri (Peshawar), Orakzai Agency and Dera Ismail Khan over the previous few days,” said the official who did not want to be named.

The time selected for the bomb blast revealed that it was not a simple terrorist strike, said the official, who believed the perpetrators chose evening hours when most of shops in the congested area are closed. He said common citizens were not the target of the terrorist bid.

“Had the explosion taken place in the morning or afternoon, which is the peak timings in that area, the death tally would have been a hundred or more,” said the official while pointing at the gravity of the blast.

The Jehangira Ward, the area where the explosion took place, consists of Koochi Bazaar, Kohati and Koocha Risaldar. There are 11 small and large imam bargahs in that area, and the Alamdar-e-Karbala Imam Bargah, outside which the explosion took place, is one of those.

The target was well-chosen as the area is mostly populated by people belonging to Shia sect and a brisk reaction against people of the opposite Sunni sect was expected, said the official.

He said mostly Shia people from Parachinar area of Kurram Agency, which has witnessed the worst-ever sectarian violence in the previous months, were living in that area. (Daily Times, 7 Dec 2008)

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Peshawar blast
Friday, December 12, 2008
By Bureau report (The News)

PESHAWAR: The deadly bomb explosion in the heart of the Walled City here last Friday made dozens of families mourn the demise of their near and dear ones instead of celebrating Eidul Azha.

The shocking incidence took lives of more than 35 innocent people, injuring 140 as well as depriving many of their businesses, homes and shops. Those, who sustained injuries in the blast and admitted to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital, the major health facility of the Frontier province, never tired of narrating their ordeals.

Mohsin, a teenager hailing from Parachinar suffered head injury on and injuries on his chest also narrated his awful story. Talking about the incident, he said that he was staying at Pak Hotel as he had to leave for Parachinar early morning. “At the time of blast I was on second floor when I heard a big bang and I fell down,” Mohsin, the tailor by profession said.

Mohsin, who was complaining of backache, went on to say that he did not felt that he had suffered injuries while coming downstairs. “When I reached the main gate of the hotel I felt blood streaming out of my head. After that I became unconscious and fell on the stairs of the hotel.”

He appeared to be extremely critical about the role of the law-enforcing agencies, saying that a huge chunk of national exchequer was being spent on them, but they have absolutely failed to perform their duties by putting a leash on terrorists.

Syed Hussain, a daily-wager at a local teashop while narrating his sufferings, said that he was serving tea to a nearby shop when suddenly the blast occurred and the intensity was so high that he fell into the nearby drainage, fracturing his left leg. “It is altogether beyond my comprehension that what kind of Islam is this, in which innocent people are being targeted. They turned Eid, the Islamic festival, into a mourning for us,” he said.

He said that the militants should have at least differentiated between the combatants and non-combatants, adding, “I don’t know what purpose they have served by killing so many innocent people,” he said. (The News)

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The beheaded body of kidnapped FC soldier found.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2008/12/081218_hangu_killing_sen.shtml

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Kidnapped principal killed

Sunday, December 07, 2008

By by Our correspondent

LANDIKOTAL: The body of Syed Razi Shah, Principal, Government Elementary College, Jamrud, who was kidnapped on November 29, was found in the Ghundi area of Jamrud tehsil on Saturday.

Razi Shah, 50, was kidnapped from the college in broad daylight. The kidnappers overpowered personnel of the Khassadar force performing duty at the college gate and then snatched the principal. They then drove in their vehicle to an unknown destination.

Tribal sources said the beheaded body of Razi Shah was recovered from Ghundi area and was later sent to his native Kurram Agency.

The deceased had served as controller of examinations in the Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education, Peshawar. He had also served as the agency education officer of Khyber Agency.

Authorities in Khyber Agency said they had advised Razi Shah to get himself transferred out of Jamrud as the place had become insecure due to the activities of militants and criminals. The authorities informed that Razi Shah being a Shia could become a target of some sectarian outfit.

Tribal and religious elders in Kurram Agency had formed a committee after Razi Shah’s kidnapping and contacted the government officials in Kurram Agency and Khyber Agency and influential tribesmen in Khyber to seek their assistance for his safe recovery. (The News)

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College principal killed eight days after abduction

JAMRUD: Government Elementary College, Jamrud, Principal Razi Hussain Shah was found dead in Regi Lalma village on Saturday eight days after his kidnapping by unidentified people.

The body, stated to be in bad shape, was dumped at an abandoned place. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the kidnap-cum-killing.

Shah was kidnapped on November 29 when he was on the way to college from his residence in Government Colony. staff report

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Slain principal laid to rest

Monday, December 08, 2008

By by Our correspondent

PARACHINAR: Syed Razi Hussain Shah, the slain principal of Government Elementary College, Jamrud, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Shlozan village here on Sunday.

Razi Shah’s body was recovered from Ghundi area of Khyber Agency on Saturday after unidentified people kidnapped him a week back.

Touching scenes were witnessed when his body was brought to the village where a large number of people had gathered to receive it. Eyewitnesses said that thousands of people attended the funeral.

Speaking on the occasion, the area elders condemned the killing and demanded of the government to bring the culprits to justice forthwith.

Razi Shah was born in 1949 at Shlozan village of Parachinar in Kurram Agency. He started his career as a teacher and remained head master of the local schools.

Later, he served as the controller of examinations, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar; deputy director of education, Fata, and regional director education, Dera Ismail Khan. The late academician also served as agency education officer in Khyber and Bajaur agencies. He had also the credit of being the principal of a school in UAE.

He authored a book titled ‘Lutf-i-Sohen’ in which he shed light on his past life. He fathered five sons and two daughters.