People raise their hands during a funeral for victims of a Sunday evening car bombing that killed dozens of people in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, March 4, 2013. Shiite Muslims in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday demanded government protection from a wave of violence hitting the minority sect, a day after a massive bombing in the city killed dozens of people. (AP Photo/Shaqueel Adil)
The death toll from Sunday’s bomb blast in Karachi’s Shiite-dominated Abbas Town area has risen to 50, with two people killed when gunfire was fired at a funeral procession of those killed in the blast on Monday evening. Earlier, ambulances carrying the dead were also attacked.
According to eyewitnesses, the funeral procession came under heavy fire from all sides in the Sorab Kot area. At least 14 people, including Ranger security personnel, were injured by the gunfire. The procession was aimed on the way in other places, but casualties were encountered only in Sorab Kot area.
In court
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Pakistan decided Suo Motu notified of a targeted attack on the Shia community in Karachi and posted the case for hearing on Wednesday. Last month, the Court took similar notice of the targeted killing of Shia Hazaras in Quetta, where some 200 members of the community have been killed this year alone.
Sunday’s explosion occurred in two residential buildings; making several people homeless. On Sunday and Monday evening, people used all available platforms to organize alternative housing and essential supplies for those whose homes were destroyed in the explosion.
No organization has claimed responsibility for the explosion in a city no stranger to violence. As is always the case when tensions rise in Karachi, the provincial government has banned passenger car rides from Monday evening and announced an operation against banned organizations.
Published – March 4, 2013 11:54 pm EST.