Pro-Taliban militants have made various homemade explosives in order to target religious gatherings of Shia Muslims in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, a media report says.
The revelation comes after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded accidentally in the house of a pro-Taliban commander in the volatile city on Saturday evening. At least two of the bomb makers were killed and several others injured as a result of the accidental explosion.
Some suspects now in police custody have told investigators that the bombs were made to target a huge Shia Muslim procession schedules to be held during the holy month of Ramadan, Dawn newspaper reported.
The developments come as a top Pakistani court has recently ordered the government in Sindh Province, of which Karachi is the capital, to take the issue of the presence of the pro-Taliban militants in the city seriously.
Karachi has experienced a wave of sectarian violence and targeted killings over the past few months.
Sectarian, political, and ethnic violence has killed hundreds of people in Pakistanâ„¢s main commercial hub so far this year.
Meanwhile, human Rights Watch says hundreds of Shias were killed in Pakistan in 2012, which was the deadliest year on record for the Shia Muslim community.
Reports say the anti-Shia terrorist group of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was behind most of the attacks on Shia Muslims in Pakistan.
Shia Muslims in Pakistan say the government must take decisive action against the forces involved in the targeted killings. They also accuse Islamabad of failing to provide security for the Muslim community.
The countryâ„¢s Shia leaders have called on the government to form a judicial commission to investigate the bloodshed.
The killing of Shias has caused an international outrage, with rights groups and regional countries expressing concern over the ongoing deadly violence.
Shias make up about one third of Pakistanâ„¢s population of over 180 million.
JR/PR
Republished with permission from: Press TV