Timeline: Major attacks on shrines in Pakistan

Published February 16, 2017
Rescue workers carry a victim of the November 13, 2016, attack on the Shah Norani shrine, Khuzdar. — AP
Rescue workers carry a victim of the November 13, 2016, attack on the Shah Norani shrine, Khuzdar. — AP

The revered Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan came under attack on Thursday as devotees were engrossed in the dhamaal (a Sufi ritual). Shrines have been easy targets for militants in the past. Here we look at major attacks on shrines in Pakistan.

March 19, 2005: Pir Rakhel Shah, Fatehpur

At least 35 people were killed and many injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself at the shrine of Pir Rakhel Shah in remote village of Fatehpur located in Jhal Magsi District of Balochistan. The dead included Shia and Deobandi devotees.

May 27, 2005: Bari Imam shrine, Islamabad

At least 20 people, were killed and nearly 100 others injured in a powerful explosion during a crowded Majlis at the Bari Imam shrine. Security guards and witnesses said that some 8,000 to 10,000 followers of both Sunni and Shia sects were attending the Majlis when a bearded man of medium height and dark complexion walked up to the stage and blew himself up.

July 2, 2010: Data Darbar, Lahore

At least 37 died when militants targeted devotees at the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajveri, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, one of the earliest saints to introduce this land to Sufism and its spirit of brotherhood.

October 7, 2010: Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Karachi

Two suspected suicide bombers blew themselves up at Karachi's Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine, killing at least eight people and leaving more than 60 injured.

October 26, 2010: Baba Farid, Pakpattan

At least six people were killed in a bomb blast outside the shrine of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan.

April 3, 2011: Sakhi Sarwar, Dera Ghazi Khan

A double suicide bomb attack outside a shrine in Punjab killed at least 41 people.

February 25, 2013: Dargah Ghulam Shah Ghazi, Maari

Three people were killed and more than 27 others injured in a bomb attack at Dargah Ghulam Shah Ghazi in the village of Maari near Shikarpur.

June 21, 2014: Baba Nangay Shah's shrine, Islamabad

A powerful explosion at a shrine on the outskirts of the federal capital injured at least 61 people.

November 13, 2016: Shah Norani shrine, Khuzdar

At least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a bombing at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district of Balochistan.

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