| July 2010 Lahore bombings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Date | 1 July 2010 (UTC+5) |
| Target | Sufi shrine |
Attack type | 2 suicide bombings |
| Deaths | 50 [1] |
| Injured | 200+ [1] |
The July 2010 Lahore bombings occurred on 1 July 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Sufi shrine, Data Darbar Complex. At least 50 people were killed and 200 others were hurt in the blasts. [1] [2] [3] It was the biggest attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since 2001. [2]
Tasawwuf is a part of Islam and the Sufis are those who practice Tasawuf. During the last few centuries it has come under attack from the Wahhabism which consider it polytheistic. [4]
The Data Darbar shrine is the burial place of the Sufi saint Syed Ali Hajwairi. [5] His book 'Kashif-ul-Mahjub' (which literally means 'unveiling of the veiled') is the first treatise in Sufi literature known as 'Malfujat'.[ citation needed ] Thursdays are the busiest days at the shrine as a large number of devotees come to pay their respects and attain blessings. [6]
The shrine was mostly frequented by members of the Ahle-Sunnath Wal Jamath sect whom the Taliban consider heretics. [2] The shrine was known for its colourful festivals in which the devotees dance, a practice considered un-Islamic by the Taliban. [7] In March 2009 Taliban militants had bombed the shrine of Sufi poet Rahman Baba and in June 2009 Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi a moderate cleric belonging to the Ahle-Sunnath Wal Jamath sect was killed in a suicide bombing blamed on Taliban. [8]
Police initially said that three suicide bombers attacked the shrine. One attack occurred at gate number 5 to the shrine, one in the courtyard, and one in the basement. The attackers struck in the evening, when the shrine was most busy due to the cooler weather. [6]
Doctors said they expected the death toll to rise; and at Mayo Hospital, where the injured were sent, officials declared a state of emergency. Twenty-five people were in critical condition according to hospital officials. [9] The Lahore Police Commissioner Khusro Pervez also appealed to people not to rush to hospitals. [5]
Media personnel were attacked by enraged people at the site. Police also resorted to aerial firing to disperse people gathered at the shrine so as to clear the area. Scuffles then took place between protesters and police as people demanded that investigations be made on loopholes in the security arrangements. [6]
The next day about 2,000 people, some armed, staged protests in the city shouting "Down with Shahbaz Sharif".
Police were put high alert in Pakistan as demands grew for a tougher crackdown on armed religious groups in central Punjab. Security was also tightened at Sufi shrines across the country, while many Pakistanis, called for the resignation of Punjab government officials. [10]
The administrators of the shrine said that strict security arrangement had been made, and that all devotees entering the shrine were thoroughly checked. [6]
The police commissioner said that the body parts of two suicide bombers had been found, including two heads. He said the suicide bombers were very young and that each suicide jacket could have carried up to 10–15 kg. of explosives. [6]
On 5 July, Pakistani authorities arrested 12 suspects, though the identity of the actual perpetrators remains a mystery. Ammunition and weapons were also recovered in the raids in two areas of Lahore. Five police officers were also suspended for security lapses that led to the attack. [11]
Though there has not been a claim of responsibility, previous bombings in Lahore have been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban because of their disagreement with minority interpretations of Islam, such as Sufism. [5] However, Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, denied responsibility for the attacks and called them the handiwork of secret foreign agencies. [4] A spokesperson for the Punjabi Taliban, Muhammad Umar, said that "We don't follow a policy of attacking shrines. During five years of government in Afghanistan, the Taliban never demolished a single shrine. Strategically it would also be ridiculous if we send anybody for any suicide attack. Why should we do that? If we really want to kill people over there all we need is to simply park an explosive laden car and that's all." [11] He further termed the incident as an act of spy agencies and Blackwater, aimed to "defame the Mujahideen." [12]
However protests were held in Lahore blaming Taliban militants for the attack. [13]
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani strongly condemned the blasts and asked the police to investigate the crime and submit a report. [9] Farahnaz Ispahani, spokeswoman for President Asif Ali Zardari issued a statement saying "This sickening poison of extremism will be driven out of our nation and we will not be cowed." [1] 
Catherine Ashton, the foreign affairs chief of the European Union, said "The deadly attack is yet another vivid example of the scale of the terrorist threat and extremism in Pakistan." [16] 
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the attack saying "the deliberate targeting of a crowded place of worship makes this particularly vicious." [15] 
India issued a statement saying "The government strongly condemns the terrorist attacks on Data Darbar in Lahore and expresses sympathies to the families of the bereaved." [17] 
William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, said "Britain stands alongside the people and government of Pakistan against those who commit such appalling atrocities." [16] 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the attacks and promised to support Pakistan in its fight against militancy. Leonard Leo, chairman of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, called on the Pakistani government to protect the freedom of all religious groups and repeal the country's blasphemy laws. [18] Prime Minister Gilani announced that the government and opposition would hold a national conference in order to discuss ways to combat terrorism. [19] The conference was attended by the Chief Ministers of all four Pakistani provinces as well as other officials. Gilani stated that "after being hit hard in northwest Pakistan, terrorists are on the run and seeking refuge in the urban areas of the country, where they are attacking soft targets and spreading sectarian hatred." [20]
After the attacks religious leaders of the Barelvi sect accused the Punjab government of having connections with the Taliban. They met with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and demanded the resignation of the Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan who had previously campaigned with a leader of the banned militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. [21] After the meeting, Haji Fazl-e-Karim, one of the Barelvi leaders, told the media "Rana Sanaullah's contacts with terrorists are most obvious, and he must resign." [21]
In the Lal Masjid bombing of 6 July 2008 at 7:50 pm local time, a 30-year-old suicide bomber blew himself up near the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing 18 policemen and 1 civilian. The bombing occurred on the first anniversary of the siege of Lal Masjid and was likely a revenge attack. The attack occurred even amid tight security in Islamabad, where thousands of Islamic students in Pakistan came to mark the day when Pakistani troops stormed Lal Masjid. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who visited the blast site, said about 12,000 students attended the rally and the attack was directed at police.
The 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul was a suicide bomb terror attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on 7 July 2008 at 8:30 AM local time. The bombing killed 58 people and wounded 141. The suicide car bombing took place near the gates of the embassy during morning hours when officials enter the embassy.
Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi Shaheed,, was a Sunni Islamic cleric from Pakistan who was well known for his moderate and anti-terrorist views. He was killed in a suicide bombing in Jamia Naeemia Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan on 12 June 2009, after publicly denouncing the Tehrik-i-Taliban's terrorist actions and ideologies as unislamic.
The March 2010 Lahore bombings were three separate, but related, bomb attacks in the Pakistani city of Lahore on 8 and 12 March 2010. Lahore, with a population of six million, is Pakistan's second largest city, and the capital of the Punjab province. After several attacks in Lahore in 2009, these were the first major incidents in the city in 2010. The 12 March bombings are the deadliest attacks in Pakistan to date in 2010.
The September 2010 Lahore bombings were a series of three suicide bombings which occurred on 1 September 2010, in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-eight were killed and more than 250 were injured when a Shia procession was targeted.
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These are the list of Terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2010.
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Persecution of Sufis over the course of centuries has included acts of religious discrimination, persecution, and violence both by Sunni and Shia Muslims, such as destruction of Sufi shrines, tombs and mosques, suppression of Sufi orders, murder, and terrorism against adherents of Sufism in a number of Muslim-majority countries. The Republic of Turkey banned all Sufi orders and abolished their institutions in 1925, after Sufis opposed the new secular order. The Islamic Republic of Iran has harassed Sufis, reportedly for their lack of support for the government doctrine of "governance of the jurist".
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