BackNarendra Modi condemns Karachi killings
Gunmen on motorcycles killed 43 people in an attack on a bus in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi
Premium
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condemned the killing of at least 43 Shiites in an attack in southern Pakistan’s port city Karachi.
“The attack in Karachi is deeply saddening & utterly condemnable. Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased. We stand firmly with the people of Pakistan in this hour of grief. I wish all those injured a quick recovery," Modi said on the microblogging site Twitter.
Shiites are a minority Muslim sect and make up for only around 20% of the Sunni-dominated Pakistan that has a population of around 200 million. The attack is seen as the second deadliest one on the minority sect this year, according to an AFP report.
“Six terrorists came on three motorcycles, they entered the bus and began firing indiscriminately. They used 9mm pistols and all those killed and injured were hit by the 9mm pistols," says Ghulam Haider Jamali, police chief of Sindh province, in the AFP news report.
A similar attack against the Shiites took place on 30 January when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in the southern Shikarpur district, killing 61. Around 1,000 Shiites have been killed in the past two years in Pakistan, with many of the attacks claimed by the hardline Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) who view the Shiites as heretics.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
