HYDERABAD: A day of mour­ning was observed across Sindh on Thursday to mourn 46 Ismaili community members’ massacre in an attack on their bus near Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi a day earlier.

The nationwide mourning was announced by the federal government and supported by all political, religious and nationalist parties.

Markets, bazaars, shopping malls, commercial streets, business establishments, fuel pumps, offices and private educational institutions in across the province remained closed and most public and private vehicles stayed off the road from dawn to dusk.

Also read: Karachi bus attack: Ismaili community bids final farewell to 43 loved ones

Government schools and colleges as well as the institutions run by the Aga Khan board remained open.

Hyderabad city observed a complete strike but shops in Latif­abad were open, though almost without customers.

The complete shutdown was observed in Sukkur, Khairpur, Jacobabad and Mirpurkhas districts and most parts of Hyderabad district.

The Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment (MQM) organised Quran Khwani for the bus tragedy victims in Hyderabad and Mirpur­khas while the Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP), Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB), Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) and other religious and nationalist groups held rallies and demonstrations calling for immediate arrest of the culprits and their facilitators.

Lawyers also boycotted court proceedings at lower courts and staged demonstrations against the carnage.

Most Shia organisations organised rallies, demonstrations and sit-ins and demanded a decisive operation against all terrorist organisations in the country. They called for measures at the state level for the protection of the Shia, Bohra, Ismaili and other communities.

Condolence meetings were held at various educational institutions, including Christian missionary schools, across the province for the departed souls of innocent victims of the tragic incident.

QAT and STP leaders speaking at their respective demonstrations urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the carnage.

Criticising the Sindh chief minister, the QAT chief described him as a gadget operated through a remote control by PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari. He said the government could deliver nothing but remained busy in minting money. Such a government must step down, he added.

Suo motu urged

QAT president Ayaz Latif Palijo, speaking to journalists outside the Hyderabad Press Club, where his supporters observed a token hunger strike on Thursday over the massacre, said the chief justice of Pakistan should take notice of the inhuman act. He said the PPP government had utterly failed in maintaining law and order in the province.

Mr Palijo said the federal government had come up with the National Action Plan but could not prevent incidents like the Safoora Chowrangi carnage.

He said the law-enforcement agencies or political dispensation seemed to have no idea about those behind the gory incident. Such attacks were aimed at destroying Karachi, he added.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2015

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