Pakistani Shia Muslims mourn as bomb death toll hits 45

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Members of Pakistan's Shia Muslim community were digging Monday through the rubble of a massive car bombing in Karachi.

They were looking for loved ones as the death toll from the blast the day before reached 45, a Pakistani doctor said.

The explosion on Sunday evening targeted members of the minority sect leaving a mosque in this port city, and underlined the increasing threat faced by Shia Muslims as extremist Sunni militant groups target them in ever-bolder attacks.

At least 146 people were also wounded in the explosion and 32 of them remain in serious condition, said Pakistani surgeon, Jalil Qadir.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but extremist Sunni militant groups who do not consider Shia Muslims to be true Muslims have carried out such attacks in the past.

This was the third mass casualty attack since the beginning of the year against Shia Muslims. The first two killed nearly 200 people in the southwestern city of Quetta, which is home to many Hazaras. They are an ethnic group, mostly made up of Shia Muslims, who migrated from Afghanistan more than a century ago.

Those attacks were claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an extremist Sunni militant group known for its virulent hatred of Shia Muslims.

Pakistan's intelligence agencies helped nurture extremist Sunni militant groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the 1980s and 1990s to counter a perceived threat from neighboring Iran, which is mostly Shia Muslim. Pakistan banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in 2001, but the group continues to attack Shia Muslims.

Karachi shut down on Monday for a day of mourning to honor the dead. Markets, gas stations and transportation were closed as security officials patrolled the streets.

At the site of the blast, family and friends were looking through the rubble for family members missing after the explosion.

"I am here to look for my relative," said Farzana Azfar. "People say he was here. But people say they have no idea about him. It appears that some bodies are still in the rubble."

With three massive attacks against Shia Muslims in as many months this year, many Pakistanis are questioning why the government does not seem able to protect them.

"Go ask the sleeping government to wake up. Our brothers and sisters are dying every day. But the government is doing nothing. This government is sleeping," said Shagufta Rasheed.


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