Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Shutter-down strike in Quetta over killings
DAWN.COM and SYED ALI SHAH
—File Photo.
Updated 2013-07-16 12:58:59
QUETTA: A shutter-down strike was being observed in Quetta on Tuesday as a sign of protest against yesterday's killings of seven people, including four Hazara men, on the call of the Hazara Democratic Party, DawnNews reported.
Four men of the Hazara Shia community were killed and two others injured in an attack on Quetta’s Masjid road.
According to the police, Raza Hussain and his colleagues were going home after closing their electronic shop when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on their vehicle. The attackers escaped after the shooting.
Later on Monday, gunmen opened fire at a cold drink shop in Khudaidad Chowk area, seriously injuring five people.
The wounded were rushed to Civil Hospital, however, three of them succumbed to their injuries on their way.
A heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel have been deployed in various parts of the city today to avoid the occurrence of another untoward incident in the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, chief of the Hazara Political Workers Party, Muhammad Tahir Hazara, threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement if genocide against Hazaras was not stopped.
Addressing a press conference, along with leaders of almost all the Hazara and Shia organisations, Muhammad Tahir Hazara said: "We will approach United Nations and other human rights groups if the killings are not stopped".
He lamented that under an organised conspiracy, Hazaras were being targeted right under the nose of law enforcement agencies.
Tahir said that since the last few months Sunni Muslims living close to Hazaras were being targeted to foment sectarian differences and conflict. "Some elements want to lead the city towards civil war", he feared.
He demanded political forces and members of the civil society to break their silence over the killings of Hazaras, adding that rulers must take practical steps to put a stop to the attacks.
—File Photo.
Updated 2013-07-16 12:58:59
QUETTA: A shutter-down strike was being observed in Quetta on Tuesday as a sign of protest against yesterday's killings of seven people, including four Hazara men, on the call of the Hazara Democratic Party, DawnNews reported.
Four men of the Hazara Shia community were killed and two others injured in an attack on Quetta’s Masjid road.
According to the police, Raza Hussain and his colleagues were going home after closing their electronic shop when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on their vehicle. The attackers escaped after the shooting.
Later on Monday, gunmen opened fire at a cold drink shop in Khudaidad Chowk area, seriously injuring five people.
The wounded were rushed to Civil Hospital, however, three of them succumbed to their injuries on their way.
A heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel have been deployed in various parts of the city today to avoid the occurrence of another untoward incident in the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, chief of the Hazara Political Workers Party, Muhammad Tahir Hazara, threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement if genocide against Hazaras was not stopped.
Addressing a press conference, along with leaders of almost all the Hazara and Shia organisations, Muhammad Tahir Hazara said: "We will approach United Nations and other human rights groups if the killings are not stopped".
He lamented that under an organised conspiracy, Hazaras were being targeted right under the nose of law enforcement agencies.
Tahir said that since the last few months Sunni Muslims living close to Hazaras were being targeted to foment sectarian differences and conflict. "Some elements want to lead the city towards civil war", he feared.
He demanded political forces and members of the civil society to break their silence over the killings of Hazaras, adding that rulers must take practical steps to put a stop to the attacks.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Four Shia Hazaras gunned down in Quetta: police
DAWN.COM and SYED ALI SHAH
Photo shows the vehicle of the four victims of the gun attack in Quetta on July 15, 2013.—Photo by Online
QUETTA: Gunmen opened fire at a vehicle in Quetta on Monday, killing four men belonging to the ethnic Shia Hazara community, police said.
Fayyaz Sumbal, the Deputy Inspector General Police, said four militants sprayed bullets on the victims who were travelling in the vehicle on Masjid road area of Quetta, the capital of militancy-hit Balochistan province.
All four men sitting in the vehicle were seriously wounded and succumbed to their injuries on their way to the Combined Military Hospital, he said.
Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed that all four victims belonged to the Hazara Shia community. Mehmood said security had been tightened following the attack and that the number of personnel guarding all exit and entry points of Quetta city had been doubled.
Quetta has witnessed a recent surge in incidents of sectarian violence, with militants repeatedly targeting the Hazara Shia community in several bombings and gun-attacks.
The Hazara Democratic Party and other Shia organisations have called for three days of mourning and a shutter-down strike on Tuesday in protest of the attack.
Monday’s incident comes exactly two weeks after a deadly suicide bombing at a Quetta Imambargah killed 30 members of the minority community. The Lashkar-i-Jhangvi had claimed responsibility for the blast, one of a series of attacks this year by the sectarian outfit targeting the Hazaras.
Meanwhile in a statement issued Monday evening, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the firing incident and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai also condemned the attack.
‘Peace only solution to Balochistan’s problems’
Earlier on Monday, the provincial chief of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, termed the restoration of peace vital for prosperity of the militancy-hit province.
“Peace is the only panacea to all ills of Balochistan,” the senior provincial minister told a press conference at his residence.
Nawab Zehri said Balochistan’s problem was neither the construction of motorways nor development projects rather the worsening law and order problem was the first and foremost issue.
“Construction of motorways does not answer the problem of peace in the province,” he said.
The senior minister expressed serious concerns over the worsening law and order situation and vowed to work with allied parties for restoration of peace in Balochistan.
He said once the cabinet is formed then the allied political parties leaders would put their heads together to find an amicable solution to issues relating to the sparsely populated province of the country.
Photo shows the vehicle of the four victims of the gun attack in Quetta on July 15, 2013.—Photo by Online
QUETTA: Gunmen opened fire at a vehicle in Quetta on Monday, killing four men belonging to the ethnic Shia Hazara community, police said.
Fayyaz Sumbal, the Deputy Inspector General Police, said four militants sprayed bullets on the victims who were travelling in the vehicle on Masjid road area of Quetta, the capital of militancy-hit Balochistan province.
All four men sitting in the vehicle were seriously wounded and succumbed to their injuries on their way to the Combined Military Hospital, he said.
Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed that all four victims belonged to the Hazara Shia community. Mehmood said security had been tightened following the attack and that the number of personnel guarding all exit and entry points of Quetta city had been doubled.
Quetta has witnessed a recent surge in incidents of sectarian violence, with militants repeatedly targeting the Hazara Shia community in several bombings and gun-attacks.
The Hazara Democratic Party and other Shia organisations have called for three days of mourning and a shutter-down strike on Tuesday in protest of the attack.
Monday’s incident comes exactly two weeks after a deadly suicide bombing at a Quetta Imambargah killed 30 members of the minority community. The Lashkar-i-Jhangvi had claimed responsibility for the blast, one of a series of attacks this year by the sectarian outfit targeting the Hazaras.
Meanwhile in a statement issued Monday evening, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the firing incident and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai also condemned the attack.
‘Peace only solution to Balochistan’s problems’
Earlier on Monday, the provincial chief of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, termed the restoration of peace vital for prosperity of the militancy-hit province.
“Peace is the only panacea to all ills of Balochistan,” the senior provincial minister told a press conference at his residence.
Nawab Zehri said Balochistan’s problem was neither the construction of motorways nor development projects rather the worsening law and order problem was the first and foremost issue.
“Construction of motorways does not answer the problem of peace in the province,” he said.
The senior minister expressed serious concerns over the worsening law and order situation and vowed to work with allied parties for restoration of peace in Balochistan.
He said once the cabinet is formed then the allied political parties leaders would put their heads together to find an amicable solution to issues relating to the sparsely populated province of the country.
کوئٹہ میں فائرنگ سے ہزارہ برادری کے چار افراد جاں بحق
Updated on: 8:55:35 PM پیر, 15 جولائی 201
اسٹاف رپورٹر
کوئٹہ: رمضان المبارک کے مقدس مہینے میں بھی دہشت گرد موت بانٹنے کا خوفناک کھیل کھیل رہے ہیں اور بلا روک ٹوک بے گناہوں کے خون سے اپنے ہاتھ رنگ رہے ہیں۔
کوئٹہ میں افطار کے وقت قاتلوں نے چار افراد پرگولیاں برسا کرانھیں موت کی نیند سلادیا۔
دہشت گردوں نے کوئٹہ کی مسجد روڈ پرایک گاڑی کو نشانہ بنایا اوراندھا دھند گولیاں برسا دیں۔ فائرنگ سے گاڑی میں سوار چارافراد جاں بحق ہوگئے۔
ہزارہ ڈیموکریٹک پارٹی نے احتجاجاً کل شٹرڈاؤن ہڑتال اوربلوچستان شیعہ کانفرنس نے یوم سوگ منانے کا اعلان کیا ہے۔
جاں بحق افراد کاتعلق ہزارہ برادری سے ہے۔
واقعے کے خلاف ہزارہ ڈیموکریٹک پارٹی نے کل شٹرڈاؤن ہڑتال ۔جبکہ بلوچستان شیعہ کانفرنس نے یوم سوگ کااعلان کردیا ہے۔
Friday, July 12, 2013
Spare a Thought for the Hazaras of Quetta
Llewelyn Morgan
Posted: 11/07/2013 22:51
A month ago, on June 15th, a bus carrying students home from the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, Pakistan, was hit by a female suicide bomber. The bus was destroyed and fourteen passengers left dead; but that wasn't the end of it. The militant group behind the bombing, Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ), then attacked the Bolan Medical Complex, where the injured had been taken and anxious relatives were gathering, killing four nurses, among others. We sometimes need to be reminded how utterly depraved the ideology is that drives jihadist groups like the LeJ. University students are blown up, and a hospital is attacked to intimidate and murder those ministering to the victims.
But who are Lashkar-e Jhangvi's victims? The simple answer is, Muslims from the alternative, Shia tradition of Islam. A brutal campaign targeting the Shia minority in Pakistan has been going on for years, with Sunni militant groups like Lashkar-e Jhangvi declaring the Shia heretics and "deserving of death"; and they have encountered scandalously little opposition from the Pakistani authorities, elements of which are quite clearly complicit with the LeJ's agenda. Extremists of the LeJ's stripe consider fair game anyone who hold beliefs different from their own (Christians, Ahmadi Muslims, etc.), but a particular focus of attacks has been the Hazara community in Quetta, descendants of refugees from Afghanistan who are predominantly Shia, and have distinctive, east-Asian features, making them readily identifiable targets....Continue Reading...
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