Speeding car rams shia gathering in Karachi

At least 14 people, mostly women and children, were injured when a speeding car rammed into a Shia religious congregation in Pakistan’s Karachi city, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on Sunday when people had gathered at an Imambargah (Shia religious place) for a Muharram congregation in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority area, police said.

Eleven women and three children, who had come for the congregation, were injured when the vehicle rammed into them.  Police have taken into custody the vehicle’s driver and two other passengers. They are investigating whether it was an accident or an intentional act targeting the gathering.

The van driver claimed the vehicle’s brake failed and he lost control of it, senior police official Rashid Ali said.