ISLAMABAD, May 28: The security forces were put on highalert for reprisal attacks on Saturday after Imam Bari suicide bombing on Friday which claimed at least 20 lives. The government ordered security to be stepped up across the country, particularly at mosques and other places of worship in major cities and towns.

Most of the victims of the blast were members of the minority Shia community. The incident triggered concerns over a new round of sectarian violence. Thousands of Shia and Sunni Muslims have been killed in sectarian carnage in Pakistan in recent years. Last year 160 people died in similar waves of violence.

“We have ordered enhanced security across the country particularly at places of worship as well as public and government buildings to ward off possible revenge attacks,” an interior ministry official told AFP.

Police have published photographs of the severed head of the suspected bomber, who appears to be in his 20s and has a thin moustache and unshaven face.

They have also offered a 500,000 rupee reward for identification of the perpetrator. No one has yet claimed responsibility.

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, who visited the site of the blast on Saturday, said it was a suicide attack and the agencies were trying to identity the bomber.

“The investigation is underway but I cannot disclose anything at this stage,” he told reporters.

The government has also offered two million rupees for information leading to capture of those involved.

Around 60 people wounded in the blast were still in hospitals on Saturday and doctors said 15 of them were in critical condition.

President Pervez Musharraf appealed to the nation late Friday to remain calm and cooperate with the government and police to root out extremism and terrorism.

“Police cannot accomplish the job alone. The government and the law enforcement agencies need full cooperation of the people and it is the duty of everyone to uproot the menace,” he said.—AFP

Hundreds of pilgrims were celebrating an annual festival when the bomb exploded at the Bari Imam shrine.

“The congregation was in progress. Around 400 people were there when a man walked in and started towards the stage where a religious leader was delivering sermon,” a witness, Mohammad Amjad, said.

“When the man got close to the stage, there was a big explosion and there was panic all around.”

The shrine, in the village of Nurpur, is dedicated to the Sufi Muslim saint Shah Abdul Latif Kazimi, known as Bari Imam, who preached and spread Islam in the region.

The Sunni custodian of the shrine and two other people were shot dead near the compound in February.

In March this year 39 Sunni and Shia devotees were killed in a blast at another Sufi shrine Fatahpur.

A group of religious leaders belonging to various sects had, early this month, declared as un-Islamic suicide bombings and attacks on ordinary citizens and places of worship.—AFP