Youm-e-Ali Procession Attacked

The people of Pakistan are facing a wave of devastation that they cannot get out of. The deadly airplane crash killing all the 152 people, the massive floods affecting over 20 million people in the country and now the triple bomb blasts in Lahore on September 1 in a Youm-e-Ali procession.

The first blast occurred in the middle of the procession at Karbala Gaame Shah, followed within 25 minutes by a high intensity suicide blast at Bhaati Chowk. The third blast took place at Anarkali Bazar after 10 minutes targeting a procession by about 35,000 Shiites. At least 29 people have been killed and 200 critically injured. The blasts were followed by an angry mob attacking the police stations and their vehicles for not having enough security when the procession was coming to an end and for not helping the injured. The police personnel had to fire canisters of tear gas to control the angry crowd. A banned organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi claimed responsibility of the deadly blasts.

Photographs by Nadeem Hussain

This leads us to question the government once again. Why are these banned outfits still operating in Pakistan? Is our intelligence not competent enough to scout them out? Was this carried out for a political motive? How many more attacks are we going to witness? Should we expect every individual to stop going to mosques, churches, Imaam Bargaahs?  Whether it’s the attack on the Ahmedi sect or the Shiite sect, a Muslim or a Hindu , a Jew or a Christian , it is clear that the sanctity of a religious obligation will not be spared by these outfits. They keep on growing stronger and the government sadly seems to lack a strategy to counter and thereafter eradicate these insurgents.