Tens of thousands of anti-Shiite protesters including demonstrators linked to Sunni extremists rallied in Pakistan's Karachi on Saturday, in the second day of protests that have sparked fears of sectarian violence.
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Vast crowds of men thronged downtown Karachi - Pakistan's largest city and a major business and industrial hub - many of them waving pro-Sunni flags and chanting Sunni-power slogans.
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The rallies follow a raft of blasphemy accusations against Shiite leaders in Sunni-majority Pakistan after a broadcast of an Ashura procession last month showed clerics and participants allegedly making disparaging remarks about historic Islamic figures.
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A security official told AFP Saturday's crowd was estimated to exceed 30,000 people. There were no immediate reports of violence. | Above: Rangers and police personnel patrol as Sunnis march during the protest.
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The rally was organised by the Sunni organisation Jamaat Ahle Sunnat and by the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which has organised huge and often violent protests over alleged blasphemy in the past.
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"If you play with the religious sentiments of the Sunni, we will not tolerate it," Karachi TLP chief Allama Abid Mubara told the rally. Sunni people could ultimately "get their heads cut off, but can also behead other people," he added.
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But Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, who was the event's main speaker, insisted the rally aimed to "promote peace." "Our movement is not against any sectarian group, our movement is against those individuals who desecrate our revered personalities," he said.
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Sunni Muslim demonstrators shout slogans during an anti-Shiite protest, in Karachi.
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Sunni Muslims gather during an anti-Shiite protest in Karachi.
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Police personnel patrol as Sunni Muslims march during an anti-Shiite protest in Karachi.
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Sunni Muslim demonstrators shout slogans during an anti-Shiite protest, in Karachi.
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Sunni Muslims shout slogans during an anti-Shiite protest in Karachi.
Image Credit: AFP
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