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Dancing with the Invisible Ones
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Three days after the terrible suicide attack at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine by Islamic State Khorasan that claimed 90 lives, dancer-feminist-social activist Sheema Kermani, along with Pakistani Sufi artistes, performed the traditional dhamaal at the site, in a spirited reply to the terrorists and the fundamentalists. Now, there will be an encore. On February 25, rapper Ali Gul Pir and Sufi rock ensemble Sounds of Kolachi will sing live near the shrine
By Sujit Bhar
After one of the deadliest suicide terrorist attacks in Pakistan that took 90 lives, including that of 24 children (aged 4 to 8), packed at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in the southern city of Sehwan, Sindh, on February 17, Pakistani Sufi artistes protested in their unique way, performing at the same shrine three days later.
It was a show of extraordinary defiance and courage, sending a message of tolerance that reverberated across the globe.
According to the leading English language daily Dawn of Pakistan, Sheema Kermani, a Pakistani classical dancer and activist, performed the traditional Dhamaal at the courtyard of the shrine. She also participated in a protest against the suicide attacks and growing terrorist attacks in the country, the daily reported.
Nearly 200 were injured in the dastardly attack, according to Fazal Pechuho, health secretary for Pakistan’s Sindh province, say reports.
That is not all. On February 25, rapper Ali Gul Pir and Sufi rock ensemble Sounds of Kolachi have decided to perform live near the shrine, according to another Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune.
Pir was quoted in the daily as saying: “My village is located near Sehwan and my cousin was in the area at the time the blast occurred so he went and helped out people as well. When he returned, he told me about the catastrophe and I began thinking on the lines, as to how we artists could respond to this incident.”
It had to be something to do with Sufi music, since this was a Sufi shrine, a target for hard-line Islamists who have been creating havoc across the country. But since Pir is not a Sufi singer, he invited the band Sounds of Kolachi to join him. “We are going to have this one-hour defiance jam because that’s the only way we can fight back… with music,” Pir was quoted in the daily as saying.
Also present will be percussionist Abdul Aziz Kazi of Coke Studio fame. “This kind of an attack has never occurred before in Sindh and we had to reply in some way. The idea behind this performance is to spread a message of love and peace,” he added.
The 800-year-old shrine was packed with thousands of worshippers that fateful day for the Sufi ritual of Dhamal when the attack happened. The Islamic State Khorasan, an ISIS affiliate group based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, called up CNN and claimed responsibility.
The Pakistani military has reacted with heavy searches, by shutting down the border with Afghanistan, and killed more than 100 “terrorists” and arrested many more from around the country.
Pakistan has also demanded that Afghanistan turn over 75-odd wanted terrorists involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts in Pakistan the military has been quoted as saying.
Image courtesy: YouTube
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Suicide bombing near Turkey Parliament building in Ankara, 2 cops injured
Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday asserted that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara. He added that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities there.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry. A footage from Reuters showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey’s capital, where the police have blocked multiple key roads.
Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 9:30 a.m. He added that two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of their Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack.
The interior minister further mentioned that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised, which usually means was killed. He noted that their struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.
Reports said that Ankara’s chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack. Authorities did not identify any specific militant group, as yet.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity. The leader of the Republican People’s Party mentioned that no matter from whom and where it came from, they will fight it together as a country and will never give treacherous ambitions a chance.
The concerned authorities in Ankara have cautioned the citizens over suspicious packages and bags that are being detonated in a controlled manner. Ankara Security Directorate asked citizens not to panic.
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Balochistan blast: Pakistan alleges India’s involvement in suicide attack, toll rises to 60
Sarfaraz Bugti told media that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing.
Pakistan interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti in a shocking claim alleged India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for the suicide blast in Balochistan. The blast that took place on Friday claimed the lives of nearly 60 people, leaving 60 others injured. The Indian government, on the other hand, is yet to make an official statement on Sarfaraz Bugti’s allegations.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a procession which gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday near the Madina Masjid at a place called Mastung. The blast tore through the mosque in the southern province of Balochistan after the bomber denoted his explosive near a police vehicle where the people gathered for the procession.
Sarfaraz Bugti told media at Quetta that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. Without providing much details or evidence, the Pakistan minister claimed that RAW is involved in the suicide attack.
Wasim Baig, the spokesman for Balochistan’s health department, asserted that seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, which had caused the rise in the death toll. He added that more patients remained in critical condition.
In addition, a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed nearly five people. Police on Saturday lodged a report to initiate an investigation, mentioning that they had sent DNA from the suicide bomb attacker to be analysed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in terror attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow on preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January’s general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s blasts. On Saturday, a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been registered against an unidentified attacker.
The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.
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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahmood Qureshi held guilty in cipher case
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were found guilty on Saturday by Pakistan’s top investigating agency in the cypher case, a case involving the alleged exposure of state secrets.
The charge sheet against Khan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, and Qureshi, who are both presently being held in custody on judicial remand, was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act, according to the Pakistan Observer website.
Imran Khan, 70, was detained last month following the filing of a complaint against him for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act by revealing a covert diplomatic cable (cypher) issued by the nation’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
The vice chairman of PTI is 75-year-old Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Asad Umar, the former general secretary of the PTI, is not on the FIA’s list of suspects, but former principal secretary Azam Khan has been portrayed as a key witness in the FIA’s case against Imran Khan, according to GeoTV, a well-known news outlet. The challan also contains Azam Khan’s statement recorded under sections 161 and 164.
The speeches by Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan from March 27 are also included in the FIA’s attachment.
The Pakistan Observer further noted that the FIA had provided the court with a list of 28 witnesses in addition to the charge sheet. According to the report, the list of witnesses includes names such as current foreign secretary Asad Majid, previous foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.
Imran Khan had been imprisoned on remand three times earlier on September 26. Along with Qureshi, his judicial remand was initially extended until September 13 and then again until September 26.
The former PM was transferred from Attock prison to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on the same day, one day after the Islamabad High Court instructed authorities to do so.
