Gunmen sprayed gunfire at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Rawalpindi, killing at least nine in the first major sectarian attack since a nationwide crackdown on extremism was announced last month. Three gunmen drove to the mosque and shot up a group of Shiite worshippers in Shah-Najam mosque. Nine people were killed and twelve more injured in the attack. Two of the three gunmen entered the mosque began spraying automatic gunfire at about 28 worshippers. Interior Secretary Tasneem Noorani said, "This clearly appears to be a sectarian attack. It (sectarianism) has been curbed in the past, but to expect that everything will fall in line is expecting too much," Noorani said. "But we are determined to wipe out this terrorism from Pakistan and will continue to make our best efforts. This government will do whatever needs to be done to prevent such attacks and bring the culprits to justice." More than 2,000 people have been killed in the past decade in sectarian violence in Sunni Muslim-majority Pakistan, where Shiites make up about 20 percent of the population.
Y'see, Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace. Its practioners are capable of living in harmony with Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Shiites, Sufis, Druzes, Jews - well, maybe not Jews - and all the other lesser orders, unless they get out of line. |