KARACHI, Feb 23: Several vehicles were burnt and property damaged by the agitating participants of a funeral procession on Rashid Minhas Road and Sharea Faisal here on Sunday.

Funeral prayers for two of the nine victims of Saturday’s gruesome incident, Mohabat Khan and Ramzan Ali, were offered at the Amroha Ground Ancholi after Zohar prayers. Hundreds of mourners attended.

Nine persons had been shot dead by three unknown attackers at the gate of Imambargah Muntazirul Mehdi in Shamsi Society Al-Falah on Saturday evening.

As the prayers ended, the mourners carried the two coffins in the form of a procession. The entire route from Sohrab Goth to Azeempura Graveyard in Al-Falah had been cleared of traffic.

When the procession crossed over the Gulshan Bridge, enraged youths set two wagons on fire near Moti Mahal, which were partially damaged.

They also pelted vehicles with stones near Gulshan Chowrangi as a result of which a few vehicles got damaged.

Miscreants also damaged the police kiosk at Gulshan Chowrangi. They smashed the glass front of a nearby building besides damaging a KFC outlet near Nipa Chowrangi.

As the procession moved ahead, a motorcycle opposite Raza Square on Rashid Minhas Road was set on fire. The show-room of a leasing company housed in Aladdin Shopping Arcade was also pelted with stones.

Windowpanes of Lasania Restaurant located on Rashid Minhas Road were also broken. Besides, several dozen tyres were set on fire along the procession’s route.

At least four fuel filling stations, located on main Sharea Faisal, were also ransacked by the youths.

Several vehicles parked on service road near Falak Naz Plaza on Sharea Faisal along with Jinnah Restaurant and a mosque were also pelted with stones.

The Bank of Punjab near Shamsi Society rail crossing was badly damaged by the angry processionists, so was a cyber cafe close by.

The procession terminated at Azeempura graveyard where the two victims were laid to rest.

All the shops and markets along the route were closed. The police contingent stayed on the sidelines, and chose not to confront the protesters.

The bodies of five victims were sent to the Northern areas abroad a PIA flight on Sunday morning, Maulana Abbas Kumali told Dawn.

One body was sent to Punjab while the ninth victim, identified as Mushtaq, an employee of Pakistan Navy, was handed over to his relatives.

Arrangements had been finalized and announcement made that the funeral prayers of all the seven victims would be held at Nishtar Park on Sunday after Zohar, residents of the area said.

However, to defuse the mounting tension in the aftermath of the killings, a delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, comprising provincial minister Shoaib Bukhari, MNA Haider Rizvi and Babar Ghori held a meeting with some Ulema at Masjid-i-Khairul Amal.

Following the meeting, five bodies were hurriedly dispatched for upcountry and the venue of the funeral prayers for the remaining two was also changed, the sources said.