Shia Community Holds Candle March, Chants 'Pakistan Murdabad' Over Mosque Blast

At least 31 people died, with 169 injured, after a suicide bombing at an Imambargah in Islamabad during Friday prayers, according to a report by Dawn citing the authorities.

Speaking to ANI, a protester demanded that the Pakistan Army bring the guilty to justice. "We held this candle march against the attack that happened in Islamabad, Pakistan, in which people were martyred while reading namaz. We have demanded that the Pakistan Army bring the guilty to justice."

Another protestor said, "The protest and the candle march were held against those who were killed in the terror attack in Pakistan. This has not happened in Pakistan for the first time."

Shia locals took to the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway in the Hanjiwera area of Baramulla district to protest against the suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, in which several members of the Shia community were killed.

The protest follows the suicide bombing during Friday prayers in Islamabad that killed dozens of worshippers and injured several others, after which Pakistan tightened security nationwide as investigations continue, Khaama Press News Agency reported.

The protestors marched while sloganeering "Pakistan Murdabad". A protester said, "This attack in Pakistan is nothing new. It has been happening for the last 10-15 years. We, Yahya, have gathered here to condemn it. You want to erase the Shia community, we won't be erased..."

Another protester said that the slogan "Pakistan Murdabad" does not apply to the innocent common people of the country but to the administration and government, which has failed to stabilise the financial and social conditions of Pakistan and instead stays occupied with terrorism.

"The reason we have gathered here today for this procession is that we simply cannot understand how someone can kill another person while they are praying in a mosque. What kind of mindset is this that leads someone to go into a mosque, detonate a bomb on their body, and spill the blood of the people standing next to them? What kind of mentality, what kind of ideology is this that incites them to go into a mosque and murder children, women, and innocent people? When we chant "Pakistan Zindabad" (Long Live Pakistan), our intention is certainly not to condemn the people of Pakistan. This slogan is directed at their administration, their system, and their government, which is illogical, and whose financial and social conditions are declining. They have been condemned throughout the world, yet they are still engaged in terrorism," he stated.

According to Dawn, the explosion occurred at the Imambargah Khadijah-tul-Kubra in the Tarlai area. It further noted that the Minister of State for Interior, Tallal Chaudhry, told the media in Islamabad that while the attacker was not an Afghan, authorities had been able to determine through forensic tests the number of times he had travelled to Afghanistan.

- ANI