KATHMANDU: Nepal pledged action on Friday against rioters who ransacked Muslim shrines and businesses following the murder of 12 Nepalese in Iraq, as a curfew kept the minority community away from weekly prayers.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba met Islamic clerics on a visit to the capital Kathmandu’s main mosque, the Jamia Masjid, whose belongings including hundreds of Rioters torched Qurans two days ago. “What happened is a matter of great sorrow. We are investigating and will punish those who were involved in this crime against this historic mosque,” Deuba said.
But few Muslims were in the mosque to hear him amid a curfew, which has curbed the unprecedented inter-religious violence in the Hindu kingdom. The curfew was relaxed for three-and-a-half hours from 6:00 am to allow Kathmandu’s 1.5 million people to buy essentials, but few Muslims used the opportunity to head to the mosque which is now guarded by soldiers.afp