Violence breaks out in Multan

A market in Multan was set alight yesterday and many vehicles damaged as angry members of the Shia community staged a protest over the gunning down of three young men on Monday. The victims were shot dead by motorcyclists as they were leaving a place of worship.

Protesters, who also pelted the local police station with stones during the funeral procession of the victims on Tuesday, yesterday again gathered after prayers.

The mob, comprising several hundred people, set ablaze a large portion of the Gulshan Market in the new Multan Colony area, causing panic. A trailer, belonging to Wapda (Water and Power Development Authority), was also set alight and at least a dozen other vehicles were damaged as the protesters rampaged through the area. The protesters were seeking immediate steps to apprehend the killers of Ali Raza, Hassan Raza and Raza Haider, who were murdered in the apparently sectarian incident.

Local Shia leader Maulana Fazal Abbas Naqvi maintained that, "such sentiments are bound to flare up." He called on local people to maintain peace.

In protest against the killings, many shopkeepers also closed their businesses on Wednesday. Some joined demonstrators who burnt tyres on the road on Wednesday evening. The protesters have stated that they will continue such action, on a daily basis, until the killers are apprehended.

Police on Wednesday arrested members of activists linked to extremist parties. "Anyone thought to be associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) in particular is being held for interrogation," said a police official.

For security reasons, those arrested are being detained at an undisclosed location in the Multan area. However, pickets set up soon after the shooting incident were taken down, with the killers having apparently slipped away.

It may be noted that this attack in the Multan area suggests that the LJ remains active in the southern Punjab even after the death of its leader, Riaz Basra, in Mailsi last month.

The situation in the Multan New City area was reported on Thursday to be "still tense" with further protest meetings planned. Some markets in fact remained closed in anticipation of this, with traders fearing further damage to property as a result of violence by demonstrators.