ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called on the country’s interior ministry to improve coordination with provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir regions for security during the month of Muharram, Pakistan state media reported.
Pakistan has historically experienced sectarian violence during Muharram, a significant month for Shia Muslims who observe mourning rituals to commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) grandson in the Battle of Karbala.
Ashura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, is the holiest event in the Shia Muslim calendar and sees hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims take part in religious gatherings and processions to mourn the passing of Imam Hussain.
PM Sharif held a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Islamabad, wherein the two figures discussed the law and order situation during the holy month, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed to further improve harmony and coordination with provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir over security matters during Muharram and especially on Ashura,” the report read.
Muharram processions and gatherings take place amid tight security in Pakistan as militant groups have often targeted them in the past and killed of hundreds of people in the South Asian country.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this month it had not made any decision on requests by provinces to suspend Internet service to ensure security in Muharram.
Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province also proposed a ban on all social media platforms for six days due to security concerns regarding thousands of religious processions.
Pakistan PM calls for enhanced coordination with provinces for security in Muharram
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Pakistan PM calls for enhanced coordination with provinces for security in Muharram
- Ashura, 10th day of Islamic month of Muharram, is the holiest event in the Shia Muslim calendar
- It commemorates the 7th century death of Imam Hussain and his companions in Battle of Karbala
Suicide bomber attacks security check post in northwestern Pakistan, kills civilian
- Sixteen civilians, two security personnel wounded in blast near the Afghan border town of Miran Shah
- Attack comes amid rising militancy as Pakistan steps up military campaign across the Afghan border
PESHAWAR: A vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted a security check post in Pakistan’s northwestern district of North Waziristan on Friday, killing at least one civilian and wounding 16 others, several critically, police and hospital officials said.
The attack struck the Chashma Sarband check post on the Bannu–Miran Shah road in Miran Shah, the main town in the restive tribal district bordering Afghanistan, police said.
The blast comes amid a resurgence of militant attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern border regions and growing tensions with neighboring Afghanistan, where Islamabad says armed groups responsible for violence in Pakistan are based.
“Sixteen civilians were among those wounded, four of whom were in critical condition,” said Dr. Asif Iqbal, the medical superintendent at the district headquarters hospital in Miran Shah.
“One person has died at the hospital,” he said, adding that more injured victims were expected to be brought in.
Police spokesman Fazal Khan said the vehicle-borne suicide attack targeted the security checkpoint along the busy highway.
Two members of the security forces were also wounded in the explosion, he said.
Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi condemned the attack and ordered authorities to submit a report on the incident.
“The incident in which civilians were injured in the Miran Shah Chashma check post explosion is tragic,” he said in a statement.
Afridi directed officials to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured and said emergency services and hospital staff had been placed on high alert.
“Cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the government and the public,” he added.
Pakistan has witnessed a rise in militant violence in recent months, particularly in regions bordering Afghanistan, where officials say groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, operate from bases across the frontier.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of sheltering militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.
The tensions have escalated further after Pakistan launched air strikes inside Afghanistan earlier this year targeting what it described as militant camps, triggering cross-border clashes between the two neighbors and prompting Islamabad to expand military operations along the frontier.
Pakistan says the campaign, dubbed “Ghazab Lil Haq,” will continue until militant threats from across the border are neutralized.
