RAWALPINDI: The suicide bomber ripped through the calm of Friday night. At the Imambargah Abu Muhammad Rizvia, located on the street leading from Chittian Hattian to Bhabra Bazaar, a group of over 100 Shia devotees were celebrating a milad - a function held to mark the birth of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). In Shia tradition, the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) birth anniversary is celebrated on the 17th of Rabiul Awal.

The narrow streets and alleys of the Chittian Hattian neighbourhood are congested, yet cozy. The closeness of the homes is a reflection of how tightly knit the community is. But in the aftermath of the suicide attack on Friday night, that same closeness turned into a nightmare for the imambargah’s immediate neighbours.

The significance of this area is indicated by the fact that Allama Amin Shaheedi, a key Shia cleric and leader of the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) used to live next door to the imambargah that was attacked and only moved house a couple of years ago.

Even as rescue workers tried to gain access to the site of the explosion, local first responders held them up. People were seen wheeling the injured out of the maze of alleys on stretchers and push carts, while others were on their phones, reassuring their loved ones they were safe.

Angry locals insisted that the heinous act was a sectarian attack. This area, they said, had been the site of tensions in November 2013, when a standoff between the Taleemul Quran seminary and the Muharram procession resulted in full-blown riots in Rawalpindi. During the ensuing violence, seminary students had torched the nearby Chittian Hattian Imambargah on Nov 17, 2013.

Ibne Rizvi, the custodian of the imambargah, is the brother of Aun Rizvi, a PTV employee who was assassinated in 1999 in a sectarian attack. Ibne Rizvi is also the local leader of the PPP dissident group, led by Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi. His wife was former MPA Raana Rizvi.

Sectarian tensions have been simmering in the area since Muharram violence of 2013

The Chittian Hattian area is densely populated and located right next to the bustling Raja Bazaar. There are three imambargahs in the vicinity: the Imambargah Chittian Hattian, Imambargah Abu Muhammad Rizvia and the Imambargah Col Maqbool.

“There is no doubt that is was a sectarian attack; all the victims were Shias,” said Azam Zaidi, who lives nearby.

Shaukat Rizvi, who lives in the same lane where the imambargah was located, said that over the past three years, the imambargahs had been targeted consistently, but the government had not taken any action or made any arrests. He said that this was third imambargah to be attacked over the past two years after the Imambargah Qasar-e-Shabbir and an Imambargah in the Gracy Lines area, which was targeted on Dec 18, 2013.

Syed Sajjad Hussain, a resident of Chittian Hattian, said that the attack on the imambargah was proof of that terrorist were freely striking the city and targeting only one sect. “If the conspirators behind the Imambargah Qasar-e-Shabir and Gracy Lines attacks are arrested, such incidents cannot happen in the future,” he said.

Allama Raja Nasir Abbas of the MWM flayed the government following the attack. Speaking to the press at the site of the explosion, he said the state had failed to protect courts, educational institutions and even places of worship. The terrorists, their apologists and abettors are all around us, he said, and the state should do more to protect minorities from such inhuman attacks.

Published in Dawn January 10th , 2014

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