Karbala | Pakistan

More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as a result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday. The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq, respectively. This year, several million Shia Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Husain and his brother Abbas. There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which the community commemorate the death of Husain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said that “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala”. “All have received the necessary care and left the hospital in good health,” it said. Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims meanwhile said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water...

It was 3:30am in Khokhar Mohalla, one of Hyderabad’s oldest neighbourhoods, when streams of women clad in black crossed security barriers on July 4. Some carried sleepy toddlers in their arms; others held the hands of young boys or walked alongside their husbands. Men and children also mingled in the growing crowd. They had come together for the cherished ritual of mannat at an Imambargah set in a modest house dating back to 1876. The passageway leading to the entrance was already packed with scores of women. “I couldn’t get in, but my son has gone inside,” said a young woman anxiously. Moments later, her son, Danyal, returned. “I saw the ziarat. Let’s go now,” he told his mother, who had brought him all the way from their home in Qasimabad to seek blessings. “We’re not Shia Muslims — we’re Maulaee,” she clarified with quiet pride, using a term that reflects deep devotion to the fourth caliph of Islam and his family, who were martyred in Karbala in 61 Hijri. The sea of women had gathered to perform the ritual...

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has compared the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the historic tragedy of Karbala, urging the Muslim world to end its silence and take decisive action.