KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) – Amid tight security, hundreds of Pakistanis paid their respects at a mass funeral on Thursday for 45 minority Shiites killed in a militant attack on a bus the previous day in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan was observing a day of national mourning and state-run television was broadcasting live footage, showing mourners attending the last rituals for the victims of Wednesday’s assault.
The callous attack, in which gunmen stormed the bus with members of the Ismaili Shiite branch, then ordered them to bow their heads and shot them dead, shocked many in Pakistan and prompted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to rush to Karachi hours after the attack and order an investigation.
It was unclear who was behind the assault. Both a Pakistani Taliban splinter group and an Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for it. Pakistani Sunni militant groups view Shiites as apostates and have targeted them in the past.
According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, Sharif appealed on all Pakistanis to “join hands against these barbaric terrorists.” He said the whole nation “stands united to eliminate these enemies of Pakistan and enemies of humanity.”