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SIALKOT, Oct 8: The Friday prayers were held at the Jamia Zainabia Mosque amid tight security. The police, Elite Force commandos and personnel of intelligence agencies were deployed in force around the mosque to avert any untoward incident.
At least 31 people had been killed and over 50 injured in a suicide bomb blast in Jamia Zainabia Mosque on Oct 1. Allama Faiz Karpalvi, Maulana Gulfam Husain Hashmi, Maulana Mumtaz Shah and Syed Saqlain Raza urged the people to remain peaceful.
Meanwhile, special prayers were offered in all Jamia mosques for the victims of Sialkot and Multan blasts. Ulema belonging to all sects passed condemnation resolutions against the terrorism, urging the government to take some solid steps to weed out terrorism.
SHUT: All the government and private educational institutions in the city and Cantonment areas remained closed on Friday to mourn heavy casualties in Sialkot and Multan blasts.
District Nazim Mian Naeem Javaid told newsmen that the overall situation remained peaceful as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the city. He said the police had made foolproof security arrangements on Friday. The Nazim sought cooperation of religious scholars, traders and the general public to fight against terrorism.
He also exhorted the religious scholars to shun their differences and promote harmony and fraternity. The businessmen welcomed the withdrawal of strike by the Shia community and resumed their trade activities in all shopping centres and markets.
COMPENSATION: The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry has set up a fund of Rs3 million for the heirs of bomb blast victims. SCCI president Qaiser A Shabbir said the amount would be raised further. He said the SCCI was already bearing all the treatment expenditures of the injured in private hospitals.
The Sialkot Dry Port Trust has also announced Rs1.5 million financial compensation to the families of the victims. Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association (SIMA) chairman Bilal Hyder Agha also condoled with the bereaved families of the mosque blast victims. He said the SIMA would soon announce financial compensation to the heirs of the victims.
STRIKE: Meanwhile, lawyers observed a complete strike and boycotted the courts in protest against the bomb blasts in Sialkot and Multan. In a condolence meeting chaired by DBA president Chaudhry Munawar Hussain Warraich, the lawyers prayed for the departed souls.
CANCELLED: The peace walk scheduled to be held here on Sunday (tomorrow) under the auspices of the SCCI has been cancelled due to some unknown reasons.
