Sit-ins held in several cities over Quetta carnage

DAWN.COM



People in Karachi shout slogans as they react against Saturday’s bomb attack in Quetta, Feb 17, 2013. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Demonstrations were held in different cities of the country including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday on the call of the Shia Ulema Council over the deadly bombing in Quetta that claimed at least 84 lives, DawnNews reported.

Traders in Karachi had announced a shut-down until 4:30 om whereas the protestors continued their sit-ins.

Shops and markets were earlier shut down in parts of Karachi and traffic was scarce. Furthermore, a number of government and private educational institutions were also closed and the strike was also affecting the schedule of the flights and trains to and from the city.

Women and children were also partaking in the sit-ins being held at the city’s M A Jinnah road’s Numaish chowrangi, Aisha Manzil, Ancholi, Shahrah-i-Pakistan and Shahrah-i-Faisal.

Moreover, flight schedules were also being affected as the patch between Drigh Road and the airport was sealed. A sit-in was also staged on the railway track in Malir Town which had led to affecting the schedule of trains traveling to and from the city.

The protesters and participants of the sit-ins say they would continue to demonstrate until the demands of the heirs of those killed and wounded in the bombing are not met.

The Pakistan Bar Council, Sindh High Court Bar Association, Karachi Bar Association and Malir Bar Association boycotted court proceedings to protest against the killings of innocent citizens in Quetta.

Some enraged protestors in Islamabad engaged in rioting near the Faizabad bridge injuring several media persons including a camera man of DawnNews.

The routes to Islamabad airport were also blocked by the protestors.

Similarly the activists of the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) held protests outside the Governor’s house in Lahore. Lawyers belonging to the Lahore Bar Association had announced a boycott of court proceeding over the Saturday’s carnage in Quetta.

Earlier on Sunday, demonstrations and sit-ins were held in most several and towns across the country. There were calls for handing over Quetta to the army to protect the life and property of the people, particularly of the Hazara Shia community.

DAWN

CJ takes suo motu notice of Quetta bombing

DawnNews




The Supreme Court will begin hearing the case on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013.—File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top judge on Monday took suo motu notice of a deadly bombing which claimed 84 lives in Quetta, the provincial capital of restive Balochistan, DawnNews reported.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will begin hearing the case from Tuesday, Feb 19.

Notices have been issued to the Attorney General and Advocate General Balochistan. The suo motu notice was taken on a notice forwarded by the SC Registrar’s office.

DAWN

زنان هزاره مانع خاکسپاری اجساد قربانیان انفجار کویته شدند

به روز شده: 10:42 گرينويچ - دوشنبه 18 فوريه 2013 - 30 بهمن 1391

زنان قوم هزاره پاکستان مانع دفن اجساد قربانیان بمبگذاری مرگبار اخیر در یک مرکز تجاری در شهر کویته شدند.

مسلمانان شیعه قوم هزاره نسبت به حمایت ناکافی نیروهای امنیتی محلی و ملی از خود در پی حملات مکرر اخیر خشمگین هستند.

انفجار روز شنبه گذشته در یک بازار شلوغ شهر کویته در جنوب غرب پاکستان، دست کم ۸۴ تن را کشت و ۱۶۹ نفر را زخمی کرد.

این دومین حمله بزرگ از نوع خود در سال جاری میلادی است که مسئولیت آن را یک گروه تندرو سنی موسوم به لشکر جنگوی به عهده گرفته است.

حدود چهار هزار زن از شامگاه روز یکشنبه در اعتراض به این کشتار دست به اعتصاب زده‎اند.

به گزارش خبرگزاری فرانسه، آنها گفته‎اند تا زمانی که اقدامی علیه بمبگذاران روی دست گرفته نشده، از برگزاری مراسم خاکسپاری قربانیان انفجار روز شنبه خودداری می‎کنند.

قیوم چنگیزی از رهبران هزاره پاکستان به این خبرگزاری گفت که "ما کشته شدگان را تا وقتی که عملیاتی هدفمند در این زمینه آغاز نشده به خاک نمی‎سپاریم".

گزارشها حاکی است که هزاران نفر از قوم هزاره اجساد قربانیان را به یک مسجد محلی منتقل کردند و به دنبال آن به عوض به خاک سپردن آنها، دست به اعتراض زدند.

هزاره ها چه کسانی هستند؟

هزاره ‎ها عمدتاً در مناطق کوهستانی مرکز افغانستان زندگی می‎کنند که هزاره‎جات نامیده می‎شود

بخش اعظم جمعیت هزاره شیعه مذهب و شماری از آنها پیرو مذهب سنی هستند

حد اقل ۶۰۰ هزار نفر هزاره در کویته پاکستان هستند که عمدتا از مهاجران افغان هستند.

بیشتر آنها در پی قتل عام هزاره‎ها در زمان سلطنت امیر عبدالرحمان خان در ۹۲-۱۸۹۱ از افغانستان به پاکستان مهاجر شدند.

شهر کویته برای هزاره‎ها یکی از راههای اصلی برای رفتن به زیارت شیعیان در ایران محسوب می‎شود.

تندروان سنی پاکستان هزاره‎ها را به وابستگی به ایران متهم می‎کنند

از اعتصاب و اعتراض در برخی جاهای دیگر پاکستان و از جمله شهر کراچی، پایتخت تجاری پاکستان هم گزارش شده است.

در همین حال، شماری از فعالان مدنی در ولایت بامیان در مرکز افغانستان هم اقدام به کلیکاعتصاب غذا کرده و خواستار مداخله سازمان ملل برای توقف کشتار هزاره‎های پاکستان شده‎اند.

گروه تندرو لشکر جنگوی گفته که در این بمبگذاری، که عمدتا هزاره‎ها را هدف قرار داد، دست داشته است.

این دومین حمله بزرگ و ویرانگر در شهر کویته در یک ماه اخیر بوده است. بمبگذاری ماه ژانویه حدود ۹۰ نفر را کشت.

انفجار بمبی دیگر در یک مسجد شیعیان در اواخر فوریه ۲۴ نفر را کشت که شمار کشته شدگان هزاره این نوع رویدادها را به بیش از ۲۰۰ نفر در دو ماه نخست سال ۲۰۱۳ میلادی رساند.

روز یکشنبه نواب ذوالفقار مگسی فرماندار بلوچستان پاکستان گفت که دستگاه‌های امنیتی و انتظامی این کشور "یا در حالت ترس از تروریست‌ها به سر می‎برند و یا اصلا خبر ندارند که با چه کسی طرف هستند".

او گفت: "این وظیفه آنها است که از وقوع این گونه حملات جلوگیری کنند. به همین دلیل به آنها حقوق پرداخته می‎شود."

حملات مکرر و هدف علیه هزاره‎های پاکستان، که صدها قربانی گرفته، شماری از آنها را مجبور به فرار از این کشور کرده 

است.

BBC Farsi

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Kirani Massacre

LATEST STATEMENTS

New York, 17 February 2013 - Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on sectarian violence in Pakistan

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out yesterday in Quetta, Pakistan, targeting the Shi’a Hazara community which resulted in more than 80 persons killed and nearly 200 wounded, many of them women and children.

This is the second terrorist bombing in the same city and against the same community since last month. In the face of this latest attack on religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan, the Secretary-General calls for swift and determined action against those claiming responsibility and perpetrating such actions.

The Secretary-General conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of all the victims. He reiterates the strong support of the United Nations for efforts by the Government and people of Pakistan to protect religious and ethnic minorities and to combat the scourge of terrorism.

UN

Outrage across country at Quetta carnage

From the Newspaper | Dawn Report



Shias mourn the death of relatives as they gather with coffins of bomb attack victims during a protest in Quetta on February 17, 2013. — Photo by AFP

•Death toll tops 84 •Army deployment sought: Outrage across country at Quetta carnage

Outrage over Quetta massacre erupted all over the country on Sunday with people expressing solidarity with the Hazara community and demanding immediate steps to punish the culprits.

Demonstrations and sit-ins were held in most cities and towns in the country. There were calls for handing over Quetta to army to protect the life and property of the people, particularly of the Hazara Shia community.

Quetta and several other towns in Balochistan closed in protest and in Karachi a call was given for a strike in the city on Monday. Traders and transporters supported the strike call. Schools in the city will remain closed.

Saleem Shahid adds from Quetta: The Saturday carnage toll rose to 84 on Sunday but the bodies of the victims were not buried and some Shia organisations said the burial would take place only after Quetta was handed over to the army.

At least 169 people, including women and children, were injured in the massive explosion that rocked the entire city and destroyed four markets and 100 shops. A further rise in the toll is feared as, according to hospital sources, over 20 men and women with critical injuries are battling for their lives.

Leaders of the Shia community criticised the federal government and the Balochistan administration under the governor’s rule for having failed to act effectively against the terrorists involved in attacks on the Hazaras.

Tehrik Nifaz-i-Fiqa Jafria chief Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosvi, in a statement issued in Rawalpindi, urged the government to admit that it had failed to provide security to people.

The TNFJ leader said things were going from bad to worse and if the government was not able to protect the Hazara people from terrorists, it should provide them weapons and military training and enable them to defend themselves against the onslaught of sectarian terrorism.

“The toll has risen to 84 after some seriously injured people died at the Combined Military Hospital,” DIG Wazir Khan Nasar told Dawn.

But unofficial sources put the death toll at 96.

Over 70 bodies were handed over to families of the victims. But around a dozen bodies, charred beyond recognition, are lying in the morgue of the hospital.

“DNA test would be conducted to establish their identity,” hospital sources said.

Twenty people were missing, according to leaders of the Hazara community.

Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen, Balochistan Shia Conference and Milli Yakjehti Council failed to reach an agreement on burying the victims.

The Majlis leadership said no burial would take place until the army was deployed to protect the Hazara community and a targeted operation was launched against the banned organisation behind such attacks.

But leaders of the Milli Yakjehti Council wanted the dead to be buried but supported the demands made by the Majlis. Sources said a final decision would be taken on Monday.

The bodies have been kept in Imambargah of Hazara Town and in an open place adjacent to the graveyard in the town.

Meanwhile, about 2500 women of the Hazara community took out a procession and held a demonstration in protest against the carnage. Later, they held a sit-in with coffins of the bodies. They said they would not allow the burial until the city was given army’s control.

The Majlis leaders took part in the sit-in. Addressing a news conference, Majlis leader Daud Agha said the community had been pushed against the wall.

Also on Sunday, a gathering was held in connection with the Chehlum of the victims of Jan 10 Alamdar Road terrorist attacks.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Allama Sajid Naqvi of the Islami Tehrik-i-Pakistan said: “Killing of Shia people in bomb blasts and other terrorist attacks has been continuing unabated for several years because of the government’s abject failure to act decisively to punish terrorists.”

He called upon the government to expose the sponsors of terrorism and uproot their network.

Abdul Qayyum Changezi of the council urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of bomb blasts and other heinous crimes in Balochistan.

Around 100 people were killed in the Jan 10 twin blasts and their bodies were not buried until Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf reached Quetta and announced dismissal of the provincial government and imposition of governor’s rule in the province.

Chief Secretary of Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad visited the hospital on Sunday and enquired after the health of the injured. He said arrangements had been made to take seriously injured people to Karachi.

Heavy contingents of Frontier Corps, Balochistan Constabulary and police patrolled the city. A large number of law-enforcement personnel was deployed in and around Hazara Town, Alamdar Road and other areas.

Roads leading to Alamdar Road and Hazara Town were blocked with containers and barricades.

DAWN