At least four people have been killed in a grenade attack on an Ashura mourning procession of Shiite Muslims in eastern Pakistan.
A spokesman for the Shiite organization Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that several people were also injured in the attack in the city of Bahawalnagar in the eastern Punjab Province on August 19.
The spokesman said that the grenade was hurled into the crowd and blamed local authorities for failing to provide adequate security measures.
Speaking to Dawn.com, the home minister said that a man hurled a grenade at a procession passing by Jamia Masjid in Muhajir Colony in Bahawalnagar at around 10am, adding that the attacker had been taken into custody.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The annual commemoration mourns the 7th-century death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, one of Shi’ite Islam’s most beloved saints.
Source: Agencies
