The brutal, execution-style attack on Shi’a Muslims in the Mastung area of Baluchistan this week was, at once, debilitating, shocking, and instructive.

It was debilitating because it reminded observers and Pakistanis alike that the threat of indiscriminate violence Pakistanis face as a result of domestic militant groups shows no signs of abating [..]

Read the full blog entry here …

Terrorism is not a new word for anyone but it is tightening its grip on Pakistan day by day and we seem to be losing this war against terrorists. It’s not the time to chew the cud of hackneyed ideas. Several news items appear daily in newspapers and on the electronic media, reporting merciless killings of men, women and innocent school children [..]

Read the full blog post here …

LAHORE – After a long quell, terrorists were learned to have sneaked two vehicles filled with explosives into Lahore, reliable sources revealed. After intense attacks in Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi, it seems terrorists have turned their eye on Lahore. Over eight months have passed since the last terrorist attack in the city.

Reportedly, two vehicles packed with explosives have entered the city. The vehicles are reported to be a Corolla XLi-LED 7567 and a Mehran numbered NG-481, with both said to be white in colour. SSP Security Jawwad Qammar talking to Pakistan Today confirmed the threat but in a nonchalant manner. He said the reports’ source was valid but was a “routine lead.” [..]

Read the full news item here…

A leading Islamic scholar has received a standing ovation from thousands of UK Muslims as he denounced terrorism and called for peace.

Wembley Arena in north-west London was a sea of colourful robes as an estimated 12,000 Muslims gathered to give their backing to a global declaration of peace.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder of the Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) movement, was repeatedly applauded during a speech in which he said the “terrible” 9/11 attacks in the US had distorted perceptions of Islam over the past decade [..]

Read the full news entry here…

Ambulances rushed scored of injured from the shrine to the nearby hospitals. According to the authorities at the Jinnah hospital more than 60 injured were brought to them while a number of injured were taken to the Civil hospital as well. Police secured the scene of the blast amid scenes of chaos and carnage as limbs of the deceased were scattered around the shrine compound. Panic gripped the port city that has been plagued by sectarian violence in the past. Attack on the shrine doesn’t actually come as a surprise for the government as militants are already known to have made religious shrines their target that serve as bastion for the kind of religious beliefs that contradicts Saudi Arabia sponsored Islam.

Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza was quick to denounce the attack as cowardly attack against helpless innocent people. “Let me make it very clear that we are not intimidated by such cowardly acts and the decision to seal shrines is part of strengthening security at these religious places which attract thousands of innocent people every day.”

Although setting up defences against such suicide attacks has been found to be extremely difficult, it is surprising that such an important shrine didn’t have CCTV cameras for surveillance. CCTV’s cameras are crucial in analyzing and gathering evidences for such attacks and while millions are spent on security of an army of useless ministers such an important shrine didn’t have CCTC cameras installed sue to “shortage of funds”.

Abdullah Shah Ghazi is revered by followers of many different sects and people from all parts of the country visit the shrine. The shrine holds great cultural and religious significance for the people of Karachi as it is unifying symbol for many different sects. Almost all the religious outfits including the Sunni Tehrik, Jafria Alliance and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen have expressed their outrage at the horrifying incident and called for a three day mourning to be observed in the city.

Talibans considers teachings of Sufi’s against their obscure view of Islam and have targeted shrines in the past. These shrines hold great religious significance for a major population for this country and also give a message of tolerance and religious harmony that is in short supply. Government must take extra security measures to the likes of measures that are taken to protect key government offices and installations as these religious seminaries are the first line of defense against the religious extremism that is continuing to tighten its hold on the society. It was only through the efforts of these great saints that the message of peace that is Islam was spread across the Indian subcontinent and it is still critical if we are to fight against spreading of violence and intolerance in our society.

                Since the NATO strike on Pakistan border post which resulted in killings of its soldiers, Pakistan has stopped NATO supply convoys from crossing its border into Afghanistan. Routes through Chamman in the south and Torkham in the north provide the most convenient passage for the convoys headed to NATO troops. These routes are the life line for the NATO troops in Afghanistan as almost all of the non lethal supplies have to make their journey from ports in Karachi to Afghanistan through them. Past few days have seen a rising number of attacks on these convoys which have sent a stark reminder to the US and its allies as to how much they need ties with Islamabad to remain intact. These developments also come at an extremely crucial time for the Americans as they look to gain some vital ground before White House review of the Afghan situation this December.

                Ever since the American war on Afghanistan started they have remain heavily dependent on Pakistan for their supply routes which were far cheaper and politically less complex then to use routes from Central Asian states to the north of Afghanistan. Pakistan’s response to the NATO troops is bound to cause much headache to the war planners sitting in NATO headquarters since they haven’t developed their supply routes from the north. The timing for this response from Pakistan is equally important, with the afghan war theatre now reaching its climax. All stake holders are engaged in a tug of war and no player in this end game wants to raise his stakes here more than what they are right now.

My friend Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi who is a PYA (Pakistan Youth Alliance) activist, pointed out a Wahabi blogger openly blogging and suggesting the readers to demolish the shrines like Data Durbars and others as the author openly calls them the “centers of shirk”! By the way, shirk means associating partners with God Almighty. I’d like to put an excerpt from that piece of writing here:

We will remain in this mess, that we find the Muslim ummah today, until we wake up and demolish the “Centers of Shirk”, like data darbar and the likes of it, and believe in the Tawheed of Allaah Subhaanuhu wa Ta’aala the way the Sahaaba (may Allaah be pleased with all of them) believed in it.

May Allaah make us understand that our main problem in “Shirk”.

Allaah calls “Shirk” the greatest injustice (Zulam). Its worse than killing someone unjustly.

I’d like to ask a question to this very Muslim; who on the earth gave you the right to suggest demolishing of shrines which are not just the shrines but are regarded as the mosques where large number of people offer prayers, and hold other religious activities. The Data Durbar regularly serves the food called “lunger”, this is the food which is distributed thousands of poor daily!

This is not all, the followers of Sufi Islam has always been regarding the efforts and services of the great saints like Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh towards Islam. It is commonly believed that these saints have helped in spreading the peaceful message of Islam towards the masses with love.

You see! This is kind of a severe clash between the assessment of two different faiths; while one believes the shrines to be the centers of spiritual learning, the other believes it to be the centers of shirk and thinks it should be demolished. Therefor, we have to understand this! We cannot convert each other to gather everyone on one single faith/sect. Neither we can force no one to join/leave any particular faith/sect.

There’s a simple principle we all have to understand, not everyone can be converted into your faith! Good or bad, you HAVE to accept them! In case you want to justify the killing by telling me that your faith/sect is accurate and mine is not, let me remind you some golden verses from Qur’an itself where Allah says that there is no compulsion in religion which further describes that you cannot force anyone to join your religion!

Also, the very famous verse where Allah strictly prohibits the murder of any human being and calls the murder of a single human being equivalent to the murder of the entire humanity. Now this is a very very simple thing! You cannot even murder a non-Muslim so how can you justify killings of the Muslims whose faiths are slightly different then yours?

I completely agree that the majority of the Wahabi sect is peaceful and tolerant towards the other sects. It’s just a bunch of bad guys everywhere who somehow want to remain in the limelight or have the lust of power of being self proclaimed Khalifa or Ameer ul Momineed!

Update 1: Video report on Dr. Zakir Naik’s, famous Islamic orator of Wahabi origin! (Updated July 12, 2010)

A solidarity rally is being organized in Karachi Press Club today to out-rightly condemn violence against any religious sect and to also show our support for the sad loss of innocent lives in Lahore yesterday

Karachi:

Location: Karachi Press Club
Date: 29th May 2010
Time: 4:00pm

[Courtesy: Teeth Maestro]

Islamabad:

Location: Gole Market St. 8, F-7/3 Islamabad

Date: 29th May 2010

Time: 7 PM

In the aftermath of todays deadly twin bomb blasts at the Shia pilgrims, the scholars of Jafarria Alliance notably Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi has blasted the United States of America in strong words stating that these terrorists pretend to be Anti-American and in fact are working on the very own agenda of the US and that very agenda is to destabilize and disintegrate Pakistan.

Allama Naqvi said that there was no chance of sectarian crises because the examplary religious harmony can be seen in the Shia-Sunni community of Pakistan. He said that these attacks are rather an attempt from America to provoke sectarian crises amongst the masses in Pakistan that would ultimately lead to the disaster and bloodshed in every street. Allama further appealed to the Shia community to stay calm and united for the sake of the country’s stability.

The US relations with Pakistan have always been facing the criticism from the general citizens of Pakistan. The hatred and anti-American sentiments in Pakistan are at large once again. People always had the concern and had condemned the drone attacks within our territory, the political relations, and their demands of ‘do more’. Dr. Afia’s case decision added the fuel in the fire and again, today, the reaction of these attacks on Shia community.

In the concluding note, I being a citizen of Pakistan, can see a great .. GREAT.. anti-Americanism among people of Pakistan and I believe this to be a critical phase for Pak-American relations.