Shia community holds candle march for Islamabad blast victims in Poonch

Members of the Shia community held a candle march to pay tribute to victims of the suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, in which several worshippers were killed.

According to reports, at least 31 people were killed and 169 injured after a suicide bomber targeted an imambargah during Friday prayers.

A protester demanded that the Pakistan Army bring those responsible 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,” he said.

Another protester 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 residents also staged a protest along the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway in the Hanjiwera area of Baramulla district, condemning the attack. Protesters raised slogans during the march.

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 the slogans raised during the protest were directed at the administration and government of Pakistan rather than its people. “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?,” he said.