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Cleric suffers burns in arson attack on mosque quarter
[DAWN] SHIKARPUR: The Pesh Imam of a mosque belonging to the Shia community suffered burns when his Hujra (a residential quarter allotted to a prayer leader within a mosque) in Jamra village of Shikarpur was set on fire in the early hours of Sunday.According to the victim, Maulvi Sabir Hussain Khoso, he was asleep in the Hujra at Majid Al-Mahdi when the arson attack took place. He said he woke up after feeling the heat of the fire and found himself surrounded by flames. He said he rushed out of the Hujra to save his life but suffered burns. Maulvi Khoso claimed that he also smelt petrol fumes and saw three or four persons fleeing the mosque moments after he rushed out of his quarter. Personnel from the Lakhi Ghulam Shah cop shoppe visited the mosque and also recorded the victim's statement. Maulvi Khoso told them that the attackers allegedly belonged to a proscribed sectarian outfit and also identified one of them as Aurangzeb Khoso. The victim was taken to the Shikarpur Civil Hospital where doctors referred him to the Sukkur Civil Hospital for treatment. The incident and the victim's statement caused alarm in the local Shia community as leaders of various organizations including Quaid-e-Millat-e-Jafaria Allama Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi, Shia Ulema Council leader Maulana Zahooruddin Mekho, Azhar Hajano, Ghulam Abbas Bhayo, Sajjan Mahar, Nadir Hajano and Arz Mohammed Kharoos rushed to the village and visited the mosque. They condemned the attack and vowed to foil such conspiracies against the community. They urged the federal and Sindh governments to ensure safety and security of holy mans, leaders and members of the community and protection of its religious places. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... Lakhi DSP Atta Mohammed Abbasi and Lakhi Ghulam Shah SHO Mumtaz Murawat quoting the chieftain and several members of the Khosa community in Shikarpur said that the attack might be the result of a dispute between Maulvi Sabir Khoso and certain Khoso community members. The coppers advised the Shia leaders not to give the incident a sectarian colour until they reached a conclusion over the actual motive. Posted by: Fred 2015-12-08 |
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