2011 Dera Ghazi Khan bombings
Encyclopedia
A pair of bombings occurred on 3 April 2011 in a Sufi shrine
dedicated to a 13th-century Sufi saint, Ahmed Sultan, located in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan
in the southern region of Pakistan
's largest province, Punjab.
is a Muslim culture that has thrived in the Indian subcontinent
and involves the belief that one can feel a linked connection with God
through spirituality. In Pakistan, the Punjab region has been a historical hub of Sufi culture. Sufism and Sufi traditions are regarded as heretical by hard-line Islamists. In Sufi shrines devotees pray to saints while singing and dancing
and this is considered un-Islamic
by the Taliban. Several Sufi shrines in Pakistan have been targeted in the past by the Taliban.
celebrations at the shrine. Urs are an integral part of South Asian Muslim culture and are held to mark the death anniversary of a Sufi. At around 5 pm PST
, a teenaged bomber detonated his explosives while devotees were performing a mystical devotional dance at the main entrance to the building. Many of those wounded were in a critical condition. Approximately fifteen minutes later, a second suicide bomber also struck at the staircase of the shrine. A witness reported: "Bodies were scattered all over and the injured people were crying for help."
According to police officials, both the bombers tried to enter the shrine but being unsuccessful, blew themselves up on the entrance. A third suicide bomber was also recognized and arrested; While people were running in panic, the bomber by chance ran into an elderly woman and a hand grenade dropped from his hand. The woman signaled alarm and nearby security officials opened fire on him which left him wounded. The attempted suicide bomber was identified as Umar or "Fida Hussain", a teenager Afghan refugee
hailing from the tribal areas
in northwest Pakistan. He writhed on the ground while people took away his equipment.
. The death toll mounted as several people succumbed to their injuries in the various hospitals.
It is said that the shrine had previously received threats from unknown militants. The Pakistani Taliban
later claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The shrine reopened the following day.
; they had received their vests from handlers based in Dera Ismail Khan
and later travelled to Dera Ghazi Khan, booking themselves a room at a hotel. Umar, who failed to detonate his explosives, told interrogators that he had been told he would be granted paradise if he conducted the attack. He referred to himself as a "Fida'i
" (meaning one who sacrifices their life for a cause), a term which militants often use for suicide bombers. When questioned how he would get into paradise by attacking people, he replied: "I don’t know about that but paradise must be better than this world."
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
condemned the blast, stating "such cowardly acts of terror clearly demonstrate that the culprits involved neither have any faith nor any belief in human values. Such violent acts only seem to be conspiracy to divide the society and create fear."
Dargah
A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...
dedicated to a 13th-century Sufi saint, Ahmed Sultan, located in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
in the southern region of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's largest province, Punjab.
Background
SufismSufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
is a Muslim culture that has thrived in the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
and involves the belief that one can feel a linked connection with God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
through spirituality. In Pakistan, the Punjab region has been a historical hub of Sufi culture. Sufism and Sufi traditions are regarded as heretical by hard-line Islamists. In Sufi shrines devotees pray to saints while singing and dancing
Sufi whirling
Sufi whirling , is a form of Sama or physicaly active meditation which orginated among Sufis, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is a customary dance performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes aim to reach the source of all...
and this is considered un-Islamic
Haraam
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
by the Taliban. Several Sufi shrines in Pakistan have been targeted in the past by the Taliban.
Attack
The attack was a double suicide bombing that left more than 50 people dead, as well as 120 wounded. The bombings occurred while thousands of devotees were gathered for the annual UrsUrs
Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...
celebrations at the shrine. Urs are an integral part of South Asian Muslim culture and are held to mark the death anniversary of a Sufi. At around 5 pm PST
Pakistan Standard Time
Pakistan Time is the time zone for Pakistan. It is 5 hours ahead of GMT/UTC .The only tz database zone is Asia/Karachi.-History:The current Pakistan time was set up at midnight between 29 September and 30 1951...
, a teenaged bomber detonated his explosives while devotees were performing a mystical devotional dance at the main entrance to the building. Many of those wounded were in a critical condition. Approximately fifteen minutes later, a second suicide bomber also struck at the staircase of the shrine. A witness reported: "Bodies were scattered all over and the injured people were crying for help."
According to police officials, both the bombers tried to enter the shrine but being unsuccessful, blew themselves up on the entrance. A third suicide bomber was also recognized and arrested; While people were running in panic, the bomber by chance ran into an elderly woman and a hand grenade dropped from his hand. The woman signaled alarm and nearby security officials opened fire on him which left him wounded. The attempted suicide bomber was identified as Umar or "Fida Hussain", a teenager Afghan refugee
Afghans in Pakistan
Afghans in Pakistan are mostly refugees who fled Afghanistan during the 1980s Soviet war as well as diplomats, traders, businesspersons, workers, exchange students, tourists and other visitors. As of March 2009, some 1.7 million registered Afghan nationals were reported to be living in Pakistan,...
hailing from the tribal areas
Fata
The FATA or FC-ATA is a type of computer hard disk drive. FATA is simply the low cost ATA or SATA disk drive equipped with a small external converter, that changes the interface to Fibre Channel...
in northwest Pakistan. He writhed on the ground while people took away his equipment.
Aftermath
Following the explosion, a state of emergency was declared and victims were shifted to various hospitals in Dera Ghazi Khan and nearby MultanMultan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
. The death toll mounted as several people succumbed to their injuries in the various hospitals.
It is said that the shrine had previously received threats from unknown militants. The Pakistani Taliban
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP...
later claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The shrine reopened the following day.
Investigations
Two days after the attack, the police claimed that it had identified the masterminds behind the bombing and that arrests were about to be carried out. According to investigators, the planning for the bombing had been carried out in the Bajaur Agency in the tribal areas along the Afghan border. Two of the suicide bombers were from North WaziristanNorth Waziristan
North Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
; they had received their vests from handlers based in Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan is a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, west of Lahore and northwest of Multan. The city is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name. In Pakistan, its name is often abbreviated to D. I...
and later travelled to Dera Ghazi Khan, booking themselves a room at a hotel. Umar, who failed to detonate his explosives, told interrogators that he had been told he would be granted paradise if he conducted the attack. He referred to himself as a "Fida'i
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...
" (meaning one who sacrifices their life for a cause), a term which militants often use for suicide bombers. When questioned how he would get into paradise by attacking people, he replied: "I don’t know about that but paradise must be better than this world."
Response
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza GillaniYousaf Raza Gillani
Yousuf Raza Gilani is the current prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League , Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008...
condemned the blast, stating "such cowardly acts of terror clearly demonstrate that the culprits involved neither have any faith nor any belief in human values. Such violent acts only seem to be conspiracy to divide the society and create fear."
See also
- List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001
- December 2009 Dera Ghazi Khan bombingDecember 2009 Dera Ghazi Khan bombingA car bombing occurred on 15 December 2009 in a market located in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan in the southern region of Pakistan's largest province, Punjab. At least 33 people were reported killed and 50 more injured.-Bombing:...
- July 2010 Lahore bombingsJuly 2010 Lahore bombingsThe July 2010 Lahore bombings occurred on 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Sufi shrine, Data Durbar Complex. At least 50 people died and 200 others were hurt in the blasts. This was the biggest attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since...