KARACHI: The families who left their homes in Shikarpur weeks after the Imambargah blast to seek justice in Karachi demanded written assurances on Wednesday evening from law enforcement agencies for the security of the Shia community and Imambargahs.

“Incidents such as the one in Shikarpur, especially against the members of the Shia community, are gaining acceptance in society, as it is justified by a minority that controls the mindset of the majority in Pakistan,” said 20-year-old Nadia Ali whose two siblings, Ali Hassan, 12, and Kashif Ali, 14, were killed in the Jan 30 bomb attack on the Imambargah.

Take a look: Mastermind of Shikarpur carnage killed in Quetta

Being the only one from her family to attend the sit-in, which was organised by the Sindh chapter of the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen at Numaish, she said her mother was in a serious condition back home since the incident.

Around 60 people were killed and 60 others were injured in the Imambargah explosion.

The participants in the sit-in included the families of the Shikarpur blast victims as well as the families who joined them from Karachi, Hyderabad and Hala.

Led by the Shikarpur Shuhada Committee formed following the Imambargah attack, the families were supported during their various stopovers at Sukkur, Khairpur, Bhit Shah, Hala and Hyderabad on their way to Karachi.

Though the government imposed a ban on demonstrations and protests in Karachi’s red zone, the members of the long march had already entered the city by the time Section 144(6) of the criminal procedure code was imposed and instead of CM House they made their way to Numaish.

Speaking to Dawn, MWM deputy general secretary Mubashir Hassan said the cheque for Rs20 million issued by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah bounced a day ago while complaining that the attitude of most ministers during their reception in Hala was “non-serious”.

When minister for education and literacy Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who led a government delegation to receive the families in Hala, was contacted, he said: “The Shikarpur carnage mastermind’s killing in Quetta is proof of the government will and seriousness to counter terrorism.”

About the compensation cheque, he said the finance minister had already clarified the issue by claiming in the assembly that the cheques did not bounce. The cheques were given to the families on the basis of sympathy as “we understand that it can’t be alternative to human lives which we keep losing in such incidents,” he added.

Mr Khuhro said: “The national action plan is going to be implemented” so that terrorism could be weeded out. But the families participating in the sit-in at Numaish wanted quick justice and said they wouldn’t leave the sit-in without proper assurance even as the head of the MWM and Shuhada Committee were busy negotiating with the government to bring together a draft of agreement to end the sit-in.

“The time has come to rise above verbal condemnations and do something,” said Fakhrunnisa Naqvi, one of the trustees of the Imambargah in Lakhi Dar, Shikarpur. She said the government over the years had proven through their actions that they could not do much apart from condemning terrorism and issuing compensation cheques. “If they had done something, we wouldn’t be sitting on the roads to demand justice. And we are not going to move until our demands are met,” she added. A woman from Shikarpur’s Hyderi Mohalla was sitting in the front, crying copiously, as Allama Ahmad Iqbal from the Central Shuhada Committee took to the podium. Shamshad Begum, 48, had lost four of her relatives in the carnage and said she’s the only one from her family to have joined the sit-in. She said: “I will go back only when I have some answers for the families of the victims.”

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2015

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