Aanslag in Pakistan op parlementslid [Archief]

lennart

06-10-03, 15:28

Pakistani Sunni militant 'killed'

Pakistani Sunni militant leader Maulana Azam Tariq has been shot dead in the capital, Islamabad, according to his supporters.
They say he was among five people killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked by gunmen on the outskirts of the city on Monday.

Mr Tariq was the head of the Sunni militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba and a member of Parliament.

No group has said it carried out the attack, but analysts say Mr Tariq had many enemies.

He was jailed during a government crackdown on Muslim militants in 2001, but won a seat in parliament while still in prison in October 2002.

Mr Tariq was later released, after a court ruled that the government had not produced enough evidence to hold him.

Sipah-e-Sahaba has been blamed for more than 400 killings in sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent years.

Most of the victims have been rival Shia Muslims.

The latest killings follows an upsurge in sectarian violence in Pakistan.

On Friday, seven people were killed in an attack against a bus carrying Shias in Karachi.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3168180.stm

Dat sektarisch geweld plan lukt aardig. Eens kijken hoelang Musharraf de touwtjes nog in handen kan houden.

lennart

07-10-03, 12:19

Man killed in Pakistan funeral riots

One man has died in rioting by religious students in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

The riots follow funeral prayers for Maulana Azam Tariq, a Sunni militant leader who was murdered on Monday.

Tariq, 41, was among five people killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked by gunmen on the outskirts of the capital.

He was the head of the Sunni militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba and a member of parliament. No group has said it carried out the attack.

The BBC's Paul Anderson in Islamabad says Sipah-e-Sahaba is one of the most extremist Sunni organisations in the country.

It has been blamed for much of the sectarian violence to have afflicted Pakistan during the past decade and is accused of having sympathies with the Afghan Taleban.

Hundreds of people, most of them from the Shia minority, have died in the violence.

The organisation was banned along with other militant groups early last year when President Musharraf launched a crackdown on Islamic extremists.

Cries of revenge

On Tuesday, prayers were held in front of the parliament building, after which crowds moved off to a popular shopping and restaurant area where they set fire to a cinema and damaged shops and cars.

Some people appealed for calm, but the crowd was highly charged, our correspondent says.

Police used batons to control the protesters, many of whom hurled abuse at Shias, calling them infidels.

The dead man is believed to have been employed in a cinema which was set on fire by the mob.

"We will avenge your martyrdom, we will avenge your killing," the crowds chanted.

"Those who are behind this killing will not be spared," Maulana Masoodur Rehman Osmani, a colleague of the dead man, told the crowd.

Tariq's body is being taken to his birthplace in the city of Jhang, in central Punjab, 250 kilometres (155 miles) south of Islamabad, where his funeral will take place in a stadium later on Tuesday.

There as also been violence in the city targeted against Shia, and one mosque complex was set on fire.

Security has been stepped up in the southern city of Karachi - especially around Christian churches and Shia mosques.

Both Shia and Sunni leaders have been given extra police protection.

Jailed MP

Mr Tariq was jailed during a government crackdown on Muslim militants in 2001, but won a seat in parliament while still in prison in October 2002.

He was later released, after a court ruled that the government had not produced enough evidence to hold him.

He died on Monday in a hail of bullets fired by three assailants in another car, on his way to attend a session of parliament.

Tariq always denied accusations of involvement in violence.

Monday's killing came three days after seven people were killed in an attack against a bus carrying Shias in Karachi.

The government has ordered an inquiry into the shooting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3170052.stm

Het plan ligt op schema.