Toll in suicide attack on Pak Muharram procession climbs to 40

The toll in a suicide attack on a Muharram procession of Shia Muslims in Karachi rose to 40 today even as Pakistani authorities struggled to control a major blaze in a market caused by rioting that followed the terror assault.

Officials said a total of 40 people had died so far while over 100 injured were being treated in hospitals.

The bomber mingled with hundreds of people participating in a procession for the Islamic holy month of Muharram and detonated his explosives on MA Jinnah Road, a key thoroughfare in the heart of Karachi, yesterday.

About 30 people were killed instantly while others died later in hospital.     

The attack, the third terrorist assault in as many days on a Shia procession in Karachi, sparked widespread rioting and violence across the city.

Mobs went on the rampage, torching cars and shops, firing in the air and beating up police and paramilitary personnel. Hundreds of shops on MA Jinnah Road and in Boulton Market were set ablaze.

The fire continued to burn till this morning and authorities pressed over 40 fire tenders into service to bring the flames under control.

A multi-storey building collapsed in Boulton Market and the fire was exacerbated by chemicals stored in shops dealing in plastics and perfumes, officials said. 

Traders' associations estimated that the blaze had caused losses running into crores of rupees. Thousands of police and  Pakistan Rangers personnel were deployed across Karachi to maintain calm.

Officials of the bomb disposal squad said the 16kg of C4 explosives were used in the suicide attack.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack but interior minister Rehman Malik blamed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned militant group that has often been linked to sectarian violence and attacks on Pakistan's minority communities.

Till yesterday's suicide attack, Karachi was untouched by a recent wave of terrorist strikes across Pakistan that has killed over 500 people since October.

However, the city has often been rocked by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.

President Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appealed for calm in the wake of the attack.

Zardari said the suicide bombing could have been an attempt to divert the government's attention from the ongoing war against militancy.

"A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another," Zardari said in a statement.

Gilani appealed to the religious and political leadership to help in calming the situation.

Authorities also ordered an inquiry into the incident.