So far more than 600 members of the Hazara community have been killed
By Our Correspondent
QUETTA, Pakistan - In yet another ethnic target killing in Quetta, Pakistan at least 14 people from Hazara Community were killed and 7 others were seriously injured.
The killings were carried out on Tuesday morning by unknown gunslingers who were riding bikes and stopped a bus near Akthar Abad neighborhood that was taking around 30 passengers from Hazara Town Burrori to Hazar Ganji, Quetta. They segregated Hazara passengers, dragged them out, made them stand in line and shot them. They were able to make an easy escape, before police could arrive at the scene.
The dead bodies and injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex, from where the injured were transferred to Combined Military Hospital because of the lack of emergency treatment facilities. The death toll may increase as some of the injured are in critical condition.
Eyewitnesses say the gunmen stopped the bus, dragged some passengers down and shot them dead following which they opened indiscriminate fire on the bus making more kills.
This incident is not the first of its kinds as the target killings of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan have been taking place for the last few years, but currently there has been an alarming increase in such types of killings. Only in the last one month or so, about 50 Hazaras have been targeted through bombing and shooting and many others injured.
This particular incident is quiet similar to the one that took place almost 2 weeks earlier near Mastung that resulted in the death of 26 Hazara people. In that incident, too, the Hazara passengers were segregated from the bus and mercilessly shot.
After most of the incidents the banned extremist religious group, Lashkar-e-Janghwi has claimed the responsibility. This group is known as hardliner anti-Shiite group, with possible links to Taliban and Al-Qaida. The law enforcing agencies in Pakistan have not been able to make considerable contribution in countering the group.
Though there have been demonstrations against the target killings of Hazaras, concrete measures are yet to be taken to stop such killings. On October 01, 2011, Hazaras from all over the world had demonstrations in different countries of the world so as to condemn such killings. These demonstrations were carried out in front of Pakistan Embassies and UN offices around the world and strived to make them take notice of the ethnic-cleansing of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan.
In an interview with the BBC, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that he had written to the Punjab provincial government asking them to take action against anti-Shiite militants who are based in Jhang district.
"Basically I've said that the headquarters of these organizations are in Jhang and the people associated with these organizations roam free delivering speeches," he said.
Mr. Malik said that he wanted action taken against such organizations using anti-terrorism laws so "that their movements are restricted and hence their activities will also be curbed".
He also said that he intended to provide security escorts for Shiite a pilgrims and travelers going overland from Pakistan to Iran.
Reports said Hazara protesters, angered by the attack, had blocked the main highway near Quetta and set fire to the bus which had been attacked.
According to reports, sectarian strife only hit Balochistan 10 years ago, but since then more than 600 members of the Hazara community have been killed.
Most of the attacks in the past have been blamed on the Sunni Lashkar-e-Jhangvi sectarian outfit, a predominantly Punjabi group with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.