‘LeJ carried out Karachi bombing’

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik says the anti-Shia terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) carried out a recent bombing in the southern city of Karachi.

On Sunday evening, a car bomb attack killed at least 48 people and wounded 150 others in a Shia neighborhood in Karachi. Men, women and children were among those killed and injured.

On Monday, in an apparent effort to deflect criticism from the government in Islamabad, Malik lashed out at government officials in Punjab province, saying they have failed to take appropriate action against the terrorist group, the Pakistani television network Dawn News reported.

The group, which was founded in 1996 by Riaz Basra after he broke away from Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan over differences with his superiors, has its headquarters in Punjab, Malik added.

He stated that all information regarding the LeJ was given to the Punjab government and that it should explain why it has not taken any action against the outlawed group.

On Friday, the Pakistani interior minister said that the LeJ has been involved in 80 percent of terrorist incidents in the country.

On February 16, a bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the main bazaar of the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta killed at least 90 people, including women and children, and injured 200 others. According to the police, most of the victims were Hazara Shias.

On January 10, a twin bomb attack at a crowded billiard hall killed more than 90 people, mostly Shia Muslims, in Quetta, which is the capital of Balochistan province.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the two bombings in Quetta.

Following the terrorist incidents in Quetta, massive demonstrations were held across the country to denounce the violence against Shia Muslims.

The demonstrators shouted slogans against the government and criticized Pakistan’s security forces for failing to provide security to the country’s Shia Muslims.

They also denounced the Saudi Arabian policy of funding extremist groups that commit acts of violence against Muslims in Pakistan.

In addition, the protesters called on the government to take immediate action against the forces involved in the sectarian killings.