also planning to stage joint rallies across the country, including Karachi, in support of the Saudis.
Impact in Karachi
Security analysts and police officials fear that the current turmoil in Yemen will exacerbate the existing sectarian strife in the country, particularly in Karachi.
Muhammad Amir Rana, the director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, believes that Karachi is among the four hotspots for sectarian violence in the country and current situation in Yemen is likely to increase sectarian killings in the city.
He fears that al Qaeda and the Islamic State might exploit the situation.
The PIPS’ annual security report discloses that most sectarian killings in the country last year occurred in Karachi.
Around 100 people were killed and 65 injured in 84 sectarian attacks in the city in 2014.
Police officials have similar views. “Karachi is a key battleground for a decades-long proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” said a police officer conducting operations against sectarian outfits in the city. “Their recent war will obviously affect the security situation in the city,” he added.
In the past
Rallies in favour of and against Saudi and Iranian governments are not new in Karachi.
The deployment of Saudi troops in Bahrain in 2011 had angered Pakistan’s Shia community and caused nationwide protests.
“One day Shia groups used to organise rallies against the Saudi rulers, the next day Deobandi and Al-Hadith groups staged pro-Saudi and anti-Iran rallies,” said a journalist who covered the rallies in 2011.
“The walls of the city were covered with pro-Saudi and anti-Saudi graffiti. There was so turmoil in the city at that time,” he added. “I am seeing a similar tense atmosphere in the city again.”
Attacks feared
Analysts and police officials fear that sectarian militants might target Saudi and Iranian installations in the city.
When Saudi Arabia had deployed troops in Bahrain, an employee of its consulate in Karachi, Hassan al-Qahtani, was gunned down on May 16, 2011. A few days before that, the consulate was attacked with grenades. Following the attacks, the Saudi government had recalled its on-essential staff and the families of diplomats stationed at its Karachi office. Analysts fear that Iranian diplomats might also be targeted.
However, Atiq Shaikh, a spokesperson for the Karachi police, said the security for the two countries’ consulates had always been high.
“At this stage, we cannot anticipate such attacks as the federal government has still not decided as to whether it will send its troops to Yemen or not,” he added.
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