Once again, sectarian violence rocks Pakistan's largest city. Iffat Idris reports from Islamabad Sectarian violence is a menace that periodically rears its ugly head in Pakistan, and particularly in its biggest port city of Karachi. The scale of the violence in recent days, however, has been far more grave than usual. The current round of sectarian killings started on Sunday with the assassination of Mufti Shamzai. Shamzai was a well-respected Sunni cleric. He rejected violence and was not a militant but was known for his hard-line views. He was a vocal supporter of the Taliban and strongly criticised the United States-led war on Afghanistan. Shamzai was killed by gunmen as he was getting into his car outside his home. His assassination triggered angry demonstrations by his students and other Sunnis. No one claimed responsibility for the killing, but Shias were widely blamed. Immediately after Shamzai's killing, security in the city was stepped up as authorities feared revenge attacks on Shias. It was not long before their predictions came true. On Monday a suicide bomber struck an Imambargah -- a shrine dedicated to a saint -- in the city. The explosion was so powerful that it caused one of the main pillars supporting the mosque structure to collapse. Many worshippers were trapped beneath the rubble. By Tuesday the death toll had risen to 20, with many more injured. Funerals of most of the victims of the attack on the Imambargah took place on Tuesday. They were preceded by violence through Monday night, during which three people were killed in clashes with police. Tuesday's funeral procession also sparked clashes between police and angry mourners. Cars were set alight, a medical complex and shops were torched. The violence spread from the centre to other parts of the city. Senior Shia cleric Hassan Turabi called for calm but, on Tuesday evening, there was little sign that protesters were heeding his call. Thousands of police, paramilitary and army troops have been deployed in the city to try to bring the situation under control and prevent further violent attacks against Shias or Sunnis. The authorities have been strongly criticised for failing to ensure law and order and bring an end to the violence. There are rumours that the chief minister will have to resign, and even that the city's administration may be handed over to the army. Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed condemned the two major acts of violence -- the assassination of Mufti Shamzai and the Imambargah explosion -- as acts of terrorism, promising to take serious action. He denied that authorities had lost control of Karachi. Karachi is no stranger to violence. It has witnessed many serious incidents -- the murder of Daniel Pearl and the suicide bombing that killed 11 French engineers outside the Sheraton Hotel are just two examples. The current round of violence, however, is intense even by Karachi's bloody standards. It has prompted conspiracy theories about orchestrated attacks designed to fuel Sunni-Shia rivalry, or to bring down the provincial government. As the attacks go on, more and more people are giving credence to such theories. Whatever the perpetrators' motives, however, the violence is having an extremely damaging effect, both on Karachi, which is a major business hub, and on Pakistan in general. Constantly struggling to shed its international image as a land of religious extremists and violence, the pictures coming out of Karachi this week are not helping Pakistan at all.
