Pakistani Shia Muslims clash with police over arrests

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Police in Karachi fired tear gas and launched baton charges as hundreds of protesters blocked the city’s main highway and rail line following the arrests of religious leaders amid a wave of sectarian killings, local media said.

Shia Muslim demonstrators hurled stones at police and broadcaster Geo TV reported two officers injured the clashes in an eastern district of Pakistan’s commercial hub and its largest city.

Footage aired on television showed long queues of vehicles on either side of the highway as the protesters called for the release of leaders arrested Sunday night.

There were images of pitched battles between protesters and police backed by armored vehicles. More than a dozen people were arrested.

Police have arrested around 100 suspects belonging to hardline Shia and Sunni groups in the last three days, including a former Pakistan People’s Party senator, Syed Faisal Raza Abidi, over a round of sectarian killings that have claimed 11 lives in the past week.

Sunni-majority Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence. Shia Muslims account for around 10 to 15 percent of Pakistan’s 202 million population.