From The Australian

PAKISTANI militants have broken their short-lived ceasefire with a bloody sectarian attack in the eastern city of Lahore that has left 31 people dead and more than 280 injured.

Three co-ordinated bomb blasts targeted a huge funeral procession by Shi'ites, a minority Islamic sect in Pakistan, just after sunset on Tuesday night, local time, as thousands crowded the streets to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The blasts are the first major attack since the country was hit by devastating floods, which have directly affected more than 10 per cent of the population.

An estimated 35,000 Pakistani Shi'ites were marching in the procession to mark the death of Hazrat Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who was assassinated 1300 years ago during Ramadan, when a bomb was detonated near a well-known Shia building. As panicked marchers scattered, suicide bombers triggered two more blasts, sparking a violent reaction from the crowd, which turned on police and set fire to nearby vehicles and buildings, including one police station.

An Urdu newspaper website reported yesterday that a militant group known as the Lashkar-e-Jhanghvi al-Alami had claimed responsibility for the attack, although police said they had no proof of the claim.

Sunni Islam hardline groups such as al-Qa'ida and the Taliban consider Shi'ites - about 20 per cent of Pakistan's 160 million people - to be heretics.The schism between the two groups centres on a disagreement over whether Hazrat Ali was the fourth and final caliph (Muslim leader) after Mohammed - as Sunnis believe - or the rightful successor to the prophet.