At least two Shia men were killed and over 30 others injured in a deadly sectarian clash in Pakistan’s Punjab province, forcing authorities to deploy paramilitary forces in the area, the police said on Wednesday.

The clash between Shias and Sunnis took place in Kalabagh Town Mianwali district, some 400km from Lahore starting on Monday evening and continuing till Tuesday till late evening.

Tension was simmering between the two sects over taking out a procession in connection with the Chehlum of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in Kalabagh through a certain route.

A senior police officer told PTI on Wednesday that the Sunnis had objected that the Shias should not be allowed to take out a procession on a route which had their mosques. However, the Shias insisted that they would take out the procession in the town without caring about any restrictions.

The officer said the Shia procession on the “certain route” led to 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 added that activists of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an anti-Shai outfit, could be behind this incident. Punjab inspector general of police Dr Usman Anwar rushed to the troubled town and imposed a ban on the gathering of four people in the district of Mianwali.

Following the clash, Pakistan Rangers were sent to the area to maintain law and order and both rangers and police personnel deployed in Mianwali patrolled the town on Wednesday. Rival clerics also visited the district as part of the government’s efforts to maintain peace.

Slow Internet

Pakistan’s telecommunication authority on Wednesday said that Internet services across the country are expected to remain slow till early October as the submarine cable responsible for the disruptions would only be repaired by then.

PTI