Two sectarian groups clashed over the construction of the wall of an imambargah in Landhi Friday following which tension spread as protestors set two buildings and the town nazimÂ’s vehicle on fire.An imambargah is a Shiite mosque. Naturally, the Sunnis wouldn't want to see a new one. They're trying to blow up the old ones.
The violence broke out in Landhi’s Sector 36B after three days of tensions over the construction of a boundary wall for Masjid Asna-e-Ashri. The construction of the masjid’s wall was started on Tuesday but as people from the area tried to demolish it, the police were called in, an officer said. More police and rangers arrived after reports of skirmishes between some members of the Sunni Tehreek and young Shia men from the neighbourhood. On Friday evening, after Maghrib prayers tempers rose between the two groups again, according to reports from the area. Members from both sides set up temporarily pickets and an exchange of fire ensued. Residents claimed that the problem flared up on Friday as there had been inflammatory sermons in some mosques of the area against this particular one. “The masjid administration wanted to build its boundary wall but this was being opposed by Bengalis of the area,” claimed resident Rizwan, adding that the area is predominantly Bengali. “The Sunni Tehreek was backing the Bengali residents,” he added. “There are only 20 to 30 Shia houses in the neighbourhood.”
The exchange of fire spread panic in the area and some people set fire to material in the storage room of the nearby Murtaza Marriage Hall, owned by a Shia. The house next to the wedding hall, which belongs to a man identified as Shamim (also a Shia), was also attacked. According to reports from the area, Landhi Town Nazim Ismail SitaraÂ’s hi-roof van was also torched when he arrived on the scene to attempt to negotiate with the angry men. The police resorted to tear gas shelling to control the mob, however, tensions could not be diffused by late Friday night when this report was filed.