Two Shias killed in sectarian violence in Pakistan’s Punjab province

The officer said that the Shias took out the procession on the ‘certain route’ that caused the sectarian clash.

“The crossfire between the two sects started on Monday evening and lasted till late on Tuesday night. Some 33 people with bullet wounds were shifted to hospital where two Shia men succumbed to their injuries while the condition of three to four others is critical,” he said.

Some armed Sunni men first opened fire on the Shia procession which led to the armed clash. Besides the dead, most of the injured belong to the Shia sect.

The police officer further said elements of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an anti-Shai outfit, could be behind this incident.

Punjab Inspector General Police Dr Usman Anwar rushed to the troubled town and imposed a ban on the assembling of four people, in the whole district of Mianwali.

Following the deadly clash, Pakistan Rangers were deputed to the area to maintain law and order and both rangers and police personnel deployed in Mianwali held patrolling in the town on Wednesday.

Clerics belonging to different schools of thought also visited the district as part of the government’s efforts to maintain peace.