Pakistan is in denial over spreading sectarian violence

After decades of turning a blind eye, the government seems helpless in the face of attacks on Shias and other minorities




Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 April 2012 08.06 EDT
Article history

Pakistani protesters burn tyres in protest at the killing of shopkeeper Salman Ali in Quetta this week. Photograph: PPI images/Demotix/Corbis


While banned political groups preach hatred towards religious minorities in Pakistan's major cities, a conflict along sectarian lines is spreading across the country, even to areas not previously associated with violence. Having spent decades turning a blind eye to the calculated violence of groups with a clear agenda based on hatred and intolerance, Pakistan's government appears helpless in the face of continuous attacks on Shia Muslims and other minorities.....Continue Reading....

Shia Hazara Women On Target Killing In Quetta

MWM balochistan protest at alamdar road By Shia hazara Women

Aaj kamran khan ke saath - Balochistan's dire situation (18th April)

Message To Zardari In Sindhi From Hazara Women

Hazara students call for broad coalition in Balochistan

From the Newspaper | Mahvish Ahmad |

ISLAMABAD, April 16: The Hazara Student Federation (HSF) in the federal capital has spent the last month participating in seminars and organising protests, calling for a broad coalition between Baloch, Hazara and Pakhtun people in Balochistan.

“It makes no sense to stand divided when we all face the same threats and dangers. We have all been victim of violent kidnappings and killings, and the only way forward is to stand in solidarity,” says Sajjad Hussain Changezi, one of the members and spokespersons of the HSF.

The student federation calls for a political, non-violent resistance against elements that are threatening, kidnapping and killing members of all ethnic communities in Balochistan.

Waleed Umar, a Baloch youth and student, agrees with Changezi.

“We only have each other now. It is crucial that we support each other, said Umar, who participated and spoke at a protest organised by the HSF against a spate of killings of Hazaras in Balochistan on Saturday.

“Umar participated and spoke at the protest, putting his own life at risk. He is brave for having stood up in front of the Islamabad press club, side by side with us,” says Changezi.

“The truth is that the state bears a huge burden of the responsibility for the law and order situation in Balochistan. The Baloch accuse the military and intelligence agencies for extrajudicial kidnappings and killings in Balochistan.

And when it comes to the Hazaras, the continued presence of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi in Quetta indicates that the state has either failed to protect us or is directly complicit in keeping them there.

The Pakhtuns are also in constant danger living in such a situation,” says Changezi.

More than 700 Hazaras have been killed in Balochistan since September 11, 2001.

“We have common enemies, and a common path. The only way we can resist the enormous threats that we stand against, is to stand together,” says Umar.

DAWN

Quetta violence: Hazara protesters demand governor’s rule in Balochistan

By Our Correspondent
Published: April 18, 2012


Demonstrators condemned govt’s failure to protect their community. PHOTO: REUTERS/ FILE
QUETTA:

Scores of women took to the streets in Quetta on Tuesday to condemn the target killings of members of the Hazara community. The protesters demanded that governor‘s rule be imposed in Quetta, as the government had failed to curb violence against their community.

The procession, organised by Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), culminated at the Hazara graveyard in Quetta where they raised slogans against the government and law enforcement agencies for their failure to curb target killings.

MWM General Secretary Sayed Yusuf Agha said the provincial government was not sincere in maintaining law and order in Balochistan, where killers had a free hand.

“The Hazara community demands the imposition of governor rule in the province,” he said.

The women were carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans like “Stop the genocide of the Hazara community. End target killing.”

The protesters offered Fateha at the graveyard for those killed in the recent wave of attacks against the community in the province.

The Hazara community has been protesting for the past one week demanding that the government take action against the target killers. As many as 19 people belonging to the community have been killed in targeted attacks in Quetta over the past one week.

Stringent security measures have been adopted in and around Quetta including large deployment of Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, police, Balochistan Levies personnel and other law enforcement agencies following the recent spate of target killings.

The government also extended a ban on pillion riding and the display of arms in the city. Hundreds of motorcyclists were detained over violating the ban.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2012.