Pakistani police detained several Sunni and Shiite Muslim leaders in a probe over recent sectarian attacks in the southern port city of Karachi, prompting protests and clashes Monday, police said.
Faisal Raza Abidi, an outspoken former anti-Taliban Shiite lawmaker from Pakistan’s People’s Party, is among those facing questioning, said counter-terrorism police officer Junaid Sheikh.
The police and Pakistan’s paramilitary forces have raided both Sunni and Shiite religious seminaries over the last two days, detaining an unspecified number of people, Sheikh said.
Sunni and Shiite activists have rallied in Karachi, protesting against the raids. One of the rallies by the Shiites blocked a highway for eight hours, which the police dispersed with tear gas. Police officer Razaq Khan said protesters clashed with police and pelted them with stones.
The raids also arrested two militants from the Taliban-linked sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who were allegedly involved in several killings, provincial chief minister Murad Ali Shah said. The police raids also sealed religious seminaries, he said, but he wouldn’t say how many.
Pakistan has been fighting the militants and their sectarian allies for over a decade; the militants have a strong presence in urban areas and ties with Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked foreign militants in tribal regions along Afghan border.

Suspected killers of famed singer arrested
Pakistani police have arrested two militants accused of assassinating one of the country’s best known “Qawali” musicians, a provincial minister said Monday.
Amjad Sabri, a renowned Qawwal was shot dead by two gunmen riding a motorcycle in Karachi in June, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an “act of terror.”

Source: Arab News