Muharram procession tragedy: Six die, several injured in Rohri stampede

SUKKUR: As many as six people including two brothers died while a dozen others injured in a stampede during the ninth Muharram procession at Rohri in district Sukkur, on late Sunday night.

Hundreds of mourners from different parts of Sindh had reached Rohri on 8th Muharram to participate in the procession. The traditional Sham-e-Gul procession was taken out from Mehfil Shah-e-Khurasan. The tragedy struck late at night when some of the mourners rushed to pay respects to Zareeh-e-Aqdas that a stampede occurred, complicated by Rohri’s congested narrow lanes and humid weather. As a result, six people died, while a dozen were injured and several others fell unconscious.

The injured were rushed to the Taluka Hospital Rohri and Sukkur where many of the injured are described to be in critical condition. Maulana Akhtar Hussain Kazmi General Secretary Shia Ulema Council Pakistan, Sukkur confirmed six deaths and identified the deceased as Dilsheer, Kamran Ali, Hakim Ali from Ghotki, Hassan Pathan resident of Local Board Sukkur and two brothers Mansoor and Zulfiqar Ali Memon residents of Hallani. DIGP Sukkur Javed Sonharo Jiskani, said following the incident, Police and volunteers shifted the dead and injured to a nearby hospital and medical camps.

On Monday, the procession emerged from Masjid Shah-e-Iraq in the Karbala ground in the morning. The procession after reaching Mando Khabar stayed there till afternoon. Then it resumed its journey through Shahi Bazaar, Dhak Road, Wichoro Chowk and Haider Shah Haqani Muhalla and ended at Karbala ground. Every year, hundreds of mourners travel to Rohri to take part in the 550-year-old Sham-e-Gul procession.

In the rest of Sindh, the 9th Muharram processions continued in Khairpur, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Larkana, Hyderabad and other cities amid tight security. The mobile network remained suspended in many cities. According to DIGP Sukkur Javed Sonharo Jiskani, a heavy contingent of policemen and Rangers was also deployed.

Security plans were beefed up to ensure the smooth passage of Yum-e-Ashur processions on Tuesday (today) Mobile networks are likely to remain suspended along the routes of the procession. Rangers and Police, besides a contingent of the Pakistan Army remained deployed.