Pakistanis Keep Protesting Shia Killings
The families of the victims of a recent bloody bombing in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta that killed nearly 90 Shia Muslims are continuing their protest against the attack.
The bombing tore through the crowded vegetable market in the town of Hazara, on the outskirts of Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province, on February 16. The area is mostly inhabited by Shia Muslims.
Following the massacre, protesters took to the streets across Pakistan and other countries including neighboring Afghanistan to denounce the violence against Shia Muslims.
The mourning relatives of the victims also refused to bury the bodies of their loved ones until the government takes concrete actions and finds the perpetrators of the slaughter.
Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf sent cabinet ministers to the southwestern city to hold talks with protesters and announced an operation to arrest those responsible for the attack.
Officials said security forces had killed four men and arrested over 170 alleged suspects, including the alleged mastermind of Saturday's bombing.
However, reports say that the families of the victims say the talks between the government and the protesters were held behind closed doors and cannot be accepted.
A spokesman for the outlawed Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the Saturday bombing that drew global condemnations.
Violence has escalated against Shia Muslims in different parts of Pakistan in recent months. Since the beginning of 2012, hundreds of Shias have been killed in the country.
On February 1, some 19 people were killed and dozens wounded when a motorcycle packed with explosives exploded near a mosque in the town of Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
On January 10, nearly 130 people were killed and many others injured in a wave of deadly attacks targeting both Pakistani security guards and civilians, including Shia Muslims, in the country.
Shias make up about 20 percent of Pakistan’s population of over 180 million.
Source: Press TV
Following the massacre, protesters took to the streets across Pakistan and other countries including neighboring Afghanistan to denounce the violence against Shia Muslims.
The mourning relatives of the victims also refused to bury the bodies of their loved ones until the government takes concrete actions and finds the perpetrators of the slaughter.
Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf sent cabinet ministers to the southwestern city to hold talks with protesters and announced an operation to arrest those responsible for the attack.
Officials said security forces had killed four men and arrested over 170 alleged suspects, including the alleged mastermind of Saturday's bombing.
However, reports say that the families of the victims say the talks between the government and the protesters were held behind closed doors and cannot be accepted.
A spokesman for the outlawed Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the Saturday bombing that drew global condemnations.
Violence has escalated against Shia Muslims in different parts of Pakistan in recent months. Since the beginning of 2012, hundreds of Shias have been killed in the country.
On February 1, some 19 people were killed and dozens wounded when a motorcycle packed with explosives exploded near a mosque in the town of Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
On January 10, nearly 130 people were killed and many others injured in a wave of deadly attacks targeting both Pakistani security guards and civilians, including Shia Muslims, in the country.
Shias make up about 20 percent of Pakistan’s population of over 180 million.
Source: Press TV
