Karachi, Nov. 30: Thank God it?s not Friday.

Sounds blasphemous in Pakistan, where it is special. It used to be a public holiday until former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reverted to the Sunday weekly holiday on grounds that it would help Pakistan?s economy gel with the world markets.

But Friday in Karachi spells trouble. Instead of juma namaz, the holy day has become synonymous with blasts ? mostly at mosques ? and violence in the southern port city. So much so, that each mosque has slapped statutory warnings on their entrances ? Do not touch unclaimed belongings. Do not enter with bags, briefcases etc. Do not talk politics inside mosques.

Some of the minority Shia mosques have even issued passes or identity cards to their ?regulars?. The faithful are often searched as agile guards keep vigil till Friday prayers pass off peacefully.

The city is on tenterhooks as Friday approaches. Urdu newspapers carry appeals for peace and amity, all roads leading to the US, British or Saudi missions are closed for fear of suicide attacks.

The weekly drill is not without reason. In the last couple of years, many lives, including over 70 eminent doctors, 40 prominent lawyers and dozens of clerics, community leaders and social workers, have been lost in sectarian violence.

The culprits are seldom caught and the bloodshed is attributed to differences among the various Islamic sects, like Sunnis, Shias, Barelwis and Ahle-Hadith.

Attacking mosques is forbidden in Islam. But it has become almost a norm in a nation which prides itself as an Islamic republic.

In a series of attacks this year, at least 30 people have been killed by suspected suicide bombers at mosques. Each attack was followed by an orgy of violence as hundreds rioted across Karachi, throwing stones and torching buildings.

It is a vicious cycle. Whenever a religious leader or persons from his sect are killed, hooliganism takes over. The government steps in to restore order. Things quieten down for a while, till another explosion. And the entire cycle starts all over again.

Concerned citizens have noticed another pattern. Every time a mosque is attacked, retribution claims the leader of the rival sect and vice versa. Several important clerics have fallen to the violence.