Bomb kills 5 people at Sufi shrine in Pakistan

PAK PATTAN, Pakistan -- A bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded at the gate of a famous Sufi shrine in central Pakistan during morning prayers Monday, killing at least five people, officials said.

The blast at the Farid Shakar Ganj shrine in Punjab province was the latest in a string of attacks targeting Sufi sites in Pakistan. Islamist militants often target Sufis, whose mystical practices clash with their hardline interpretation of Islam.

The dead from Monday's blast included at least one woman, said Maher Aslam Hayat, a senior government official in the town of Pak Pattan where the shrine is located. At least 13 others were wounded in the explosion, he said.

The bombing significantly damaged nearly a dozen shops on either side of the street outside the shrine, leaving large piles of rubble and broken wood. Blood stained the ground and the wall of one of the damaged shops.

Irshad Ali, the owner of a nearby shop that sells beads, rushed to the site after hearing the explosion at around 6:20 a.m. local time.

"Within minutes I was here and saw a horrible scene," Ali told The Associated Press. "Victims were being loaded into vehicles and dust and smoke was in the air."

The shrine itself, which is dedicated to a 12th century Sufi saint, was largely undamaged. But the blast ripped off an old wooden door at the entrance to the shrine's grounds.



Just outside the gate, explosive experts examined the twisted and charred body of the motorcycle on which the bomb was placed.

The motor bike was parked near a group of people eating breakfast at a stall outside the shrine. They were among those killed and wounded in the blast, said Ali, the shopkeeper.

He said a security camera used to monitor the gate was removed a few days ago without explanation.

After the attack, a top Sufi scholar, Mufti Muneebur Rehman, criticized the government for not doing enough to protect the Sufi population. Pakistan is 95 percent Muslim, and the majority practice Sufi-influenced Islam.

"Our rulers are too busy serving foreign masters and have not prioritized protecting the people and sacred places from terrorists," said Rehman.