Leader’s Death in Blast Spurs Pakistani Militants to Arson

LAHORE, Pakistan — A mob of 500 Sunni Muslim militants, angered over a bombing that killed their leader, set fire to an Iranian cultural center Sunday and accused Tehran of inciting Pakistan’s Shiite Muslims to violence.

The fire gutted the colonial-style building in this eastern provincial capital, witnesses said. There were no injuries.

The Sunnis demanded that Pakistan sever ties with neighboring Iran and expel all Iranian diplomats. Most Iranians are Shiite Muslims, while the majority of Pakistan’s 130 million people are Sunni Muslims.

The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad, the capital, called the arson attack an act of “terrorism.”

Members of the Sunni militant group Guardians of the Friends of the Prophet blame rival Shiites for a bomb that killed their leader, Zia-ur Rehman, and at least 24 other people Saturday.

More than 100 people were injured in the blast outside the Lahore Sessions Court. Police said 11 pounds of explosive material were planted in a motorcycle and set off by remote control. No one has claimed responsibility.

Later Sunday, more than 8,000 Sunni activists shouted “Down with Iran!” at a funeral service for Rehman in his hometown, Jhang Sadar, 100 miles southwest of Lahore.

Rehman and two other Sunni activists killed in the bombing were buried in Jhang Sadar next to the founders of their political movement.

Another Sunni leader, Azim Tariq, was seriously wounded in the explosion, which went off as he and Rehman were arriving at the courthouse for their trial on murder charges in the deaths of Shiite Muslims.

Tariq and Rehman were candidates in next month’s general elections. In the wake of the bombing, authorities postponed elections in Rehman’s central Punjab district.