Rehman Malik thanks Taliban, grateful to them

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Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik caused dismay on Tuesday by thanking the Taliban for maintaining peace during Muharram, for which authorities had deployed tens of thousands of security personnel across Pakistan to prevent any sectarian attacks.

"I had appealed to the Taliban that they should respect the Muharram. I am grateful to them that they respected the Muharram this time. This is a good thing", Malik said while speaking to reporters in Islamabad Tuesday evening.

Malik lauded the performance of policemen and security personnel who were deployed in cities and towns across the country to guard processions and religious gatherings organised by the minority Shia sect.

Barring a minor bomb blast in Karachi and three rocket attacks in the restive northwest, there were no reports of violence, officials said.

The Shia community has often been targeted by militants, including the Pakistani Taliban, during Muharram in recent years.

However, there has been a relative lull in militant attacks over the past few weeks. Authorities put in place extensive security measures to prevent violence during Muharram. Security forces used helicopters to monitor religious processions in cities like Islamabad and Karachi.

Around 7,000 security personnel, including commandos, were deployed in the federal capital alone to guard over 900 gatherings and 177 processions.

Snipers took up positions on the roofs of buildings along the route of processions while sniffer dogs were used to screen people joining religious gatherings.

In Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province, mobile phone services were jammed during the day as part of security arrangements for Muharram. In Karachi, four persons were injured when a low intensity bomb went off at Kalapul this morning, police said. The bomb was detonated by remote control.

Five rockets fired by suspected militants in different areas of Hangu city in Khyber-Paktunkhwa province, injuring two security personnel. One person was injured when a rocket fired by suspected militants hit the main market of Kohat city in Khyber-Paktunkhwa province.

Two rockets fired by militants hit the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital of Peshawar though there were no reports of casualties. Police found and defused two bombs planted along the route of a religious procession at Mardan in Khyber-Paktunkhwa province.

Two policemen were injured when members of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, a notorious anti-Shia group, pelted stones at a religious procession in Jhang city of Punjab province.