A protest by the leaders of the Shia Ulema Council (SUC) was stopped by law-enforcing agencies when moving towards the Sindh Assembly to submit their memorandum regarding the Ashura blast to the Assembly Secretariat, on Tuesday.

According to the Shiite News Correspondent, The Shia Ulema Council, under the leader of Allama Syed Nazir Abbas Taqvi also demonstrated outside the Supreme Court registry and submitted a memorandum demanding the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo-moto action and constitute a judicial inquiry into the Ashura blast. It should also be noted that the CJP was in the city and was hearing cases in the Supreme Court registry.

The leaders of SUC were not allowed to personally hand over the memorandum to the CJP due to heavy security around the premises.

In the memorandum, the CJP was asked of why the senior government officials hampering into exposing the real culprits behind the Ashura tragedy as the investigation report still did not clarify whether it was a suicide attack or pre-planned blast. It also asked to why a judicial commission still not formed and who were the people arrested after the blast.

A bomb attack targeting Shia pilgrims travelling on foot to a holy City of Karbala in central Iraq on Wednesday martyred 20 people, including a woman and three children, a senior health official said.

According to the Shiite News Correspondent, The blast struck on the outskirts of Karbala, 110 kilometres (68 miles) south of Baghdad, the provincial health official informed, adding that 110 people wounded were being treated at two hospitals in the city.

He described the incident as an explosion. It was not immediately clear if it was a suicide attack or a roadside bomb.

The victims had been travelling on foot from Hilla in Babil province to Karbala to observe Friday’s Arbaeen (Chehlum) Imam Hussain (AS) rituals in Karbala.

The rituals mark 40 days after the Ashura anniversary commemorating the assassination of one of Islam’s most revered figures, Imam Hussain (AS), by the armies of the Yazid in 680 AD.

Tens of thousands of Shias, including many from neighbouring Iran,Pakistan,Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain,India, Britain, and other countries make their way annually at Arbaeen to pay homage at Imam Hussein’s shrine in Karbala, considered one of the holiest places.

In Baghdad on Monday a female suicide bomber blew herself up among a crowd of pilgrims who were making their way to Karbala for the ceremonies, killing at least 41 people.

Around 30,000 members of the Iraqi security forces have been deployed to Karbala for the holy festival which culminates on Friday.
It may be noted here that Hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite pilgrims have been flocked to Karbala for a religious rite. Shi’ite gatherings are frequent targets for Salfi’s insurgents like al Qaeda and Baathist.

On Monday, a female bomber blew up herself near a convoy of pilgrims in Baghdad, killing at least 54 people.

According to the shiite News Correspondent, The terrorists Ahsanullah and Asghar were arrested by police while 11 other terrorists succeeded to escape, police added. Private TV Channel reported that the terrorists wants to perform terrorism activity in the Central procession of Arbaeen (Chehlum) Imam Hussain (AS) in karachi.

The police have recovered 10 small intensity bombs, detonator and the instruments to form bomb from the custody of terrorists. The police have also recovered the maps and the terrorism related literature from the terrorists, police added.

The arrested terrorists were coming to Karachi from North West Frontier Province (NWFP).