Rallies staged across KP to condemn mosque bombing

PESHAWAR: Rallies and sits-in were staged in the provincial capital and other parts of KP on Sunday to express anger at the suicide bombing at the Jamia Masjid in Koocha Risaldar near Qissa Khwani on Friday which had claimed 63 lives and left 190 others injured.

A rally and sit-in were staged in the historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar which was attended mainly by the Shia community members but people from other sections of the society were in attendance as well.

The rally started from the Chah Shabaz locality. The participants marched through the Qissa Khwani Bazaar and staged a sit-in near Chowk Shaheedaan. A considerable number of burqa-clad women also took part in the protest. They were holding placards inscribed with slogans against terrorism, condemning the recent suicide bombing at Koocha Risaldar and acts of terrorism elsewhere in the country.

It was a rare occasion when women staged a sit-in on the main road in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar which is a business hub on normal days but even essential items shops were closed during the protest to express solidarity with the victims of the suicide bombing.

The speakers condemned the suicide bombing at Koocha Risaldar and demanded the government and the law-enforcing agencies to take strict action to protect the life and property of the citizens who, they said, were sick of such subversive activities. Special dua was offered for those who died in the mosque bombing at Koocha Risaldar.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The rallies and sits-in were held in Dera City from Hussaini Chowk to Fawwara Chowk and Paharpur City.

The protesters, including office-bearers of different Shia organisations, local traders and civil society members condemned the mosque bombing in Peshawar and demanded the arrest of the perpetrators of the heinous crime forthwith.

The speakers, Allama Ghazanfar Naqvi, Allama Tamazan Tauqir, Pakistan People’s Party lawmaker Ahmad Karim Kundi, Asad Zaidi and others, said the law-enforcing agencies must take action to arrest the accused and award them exemplary punishment.

A protest was staged in Syed Alian area in Paharpur where the protesters urged the government to take practical steps to stamp out terrorism. They condemned the cowardice act and killing of innocent worshippers in a mosque and demanded immediate arrest of the perpetrators.

BANNU: The office-bearers and workers of Majlis-e-Wahadul Muslimeen on Sunday staged a protest rally against the suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Koocha Risaldar and the killing of innocent people, mostly worshippers.

The rallies were taken out on the directives of provincial Shura of the Shia Council to condemn the barbaric act. The rally started from Imambargah Hussainia and then a sit-in was staged in front of the Mandan Gate.