Pakistani authorities were under fresh pressure today to deal with the growing number of militant attacks in Punjab after suicide bombers devastated one of the country's most famous Sufi shrines.
At least 42 people were killed and 180 wounded on Thursday night when two bombers attacked the Data Ganj Baksh shrine in central Lahore, where thousands of people had gathered to pray, dance and listen to devotional music.
It was the second assault on a religious site in the city in recent months – an assault on members of the minority Ahmadi sect in late May killed 94 people – and underscored how extremists are determined to bring their bloody campaign to the heart of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and powerful province.
The bombing was captured on CCTV and shown on TV. The first bomber was seen running into a basement clutching a bag filled with explosives and ballbearings, pursued by a guard, before a large explosion swept across the room.
As the smoke cleared a presumed second bomber is seen slipping into the building, against the tide of fleeing worshippers, and running up a staircase into the main area, where he also blew himself up.
Images from the site showed debris and body parts scattered across the blood-stained marble courtyard of the shrine.
Angry worshippers surged through the streets outside, throwing rocks at police and attacking TV broadcast vans. Police fired shots in the air to calm the crowd.
Ripples of outrage spread across the country. Hundreds of people rallied in Lahore today demanding the resignation of Punjab government officials.
"This is a barbaric attack and should serve as a wake-up call," wrote Raza Rumi, a prominent Lahore blogger. "Data Saheb's shrine is not just another crowded place – it represents tolerant Sufi Islam, which is directly under attack by the puritans."
Farahnaz Ispahani, spokeswoman for President Asif Ali Zardari, said: "This sickening poison of extremism will be driven out of our nation and we will not be cowed. Those who still pretend we are not a nation at war are complicit in these deaths."
Who Pakistan is at war with, however, remains an open question. Angry protesters at the site of the bombing raised slogans against Israel, the US, the Taliban and the ultra-orthodox strain of Wahhabi Islam. Senior local officials also appeared to be confused.
The Lahore commissioner, Khusro Pervaiz, blamed the attack on a "conspiracy in which locals are being used" – a euphemism often used to point the finger at neighbouring India.
Other residents suggested the Ahmadi community – which has no history of organised violence – was taking revenge for the attacks on its mosques in May.
The most likely perpetrators, however, come from within Punjab itself. A network of hardline madrasas scattered across the province, mostly in the southern belt, is home to thousands of religious extremists, many with links to jihadi outfits once fostered by military intelligence.
Over the past year the Punjab provincial government has repeatedly vowed to crack down on the militant networks following attacks on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team, intelligence and police buildings, and busy market places. But little action has been taken, while the provincial law minister, Rana Sanaullah, has attracted controversy for allying himself with Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni extremist group.
The task of "draining the swamp" is further complicated by the machinations of the military intelligence agencies, which appear to be continuing their policy of distinguishing between "good" and "bad" jihadi groups – a policy that analysts warn is dangerously destabilising to Pakistan.
Thursday night's assault is not the first attack on Sufis. In March 2009 extremists in Peshawar blew up the shrine to Rahman Baba. Earlier this month militants struck another shrine in the same area.
In Lahore, the glittering Data Ganj Baksh shrine is among the city's most famous and revered landmarks. It is devoted to Hazrat Usman Hajwery, a 12th century mystic popularly considered to be the spiritual protector of the city.
The shrine is busiest on Thursday nights when worshippers pray, listen to devotional music and, in some cases, smoke hashish – which, presumably, is why extremists struck then.
