The systemic and brutal killing of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan continues, which indicates that the shrieks of innocent victims have found no ears and are wandering in the alleys of injustice and negligence. One does not need to say that the situation is really grave. About 30 members of Hazara community are killed within a short span of few weeks. Such incidents are now turning to be a routine and raise serious questions about the capability of Pakistani government to protect the lives and the rights of minority in the country.

It is really difficult to remain untouched after listening to the news reports about the ruthless incidents. On Saturday, April 14th, 2012, in three different incidents 8 Hazaras were killed and a few others injured. The first incident happened on Brewery Road in the Killi Ibrahim Zai area of the city. The reports say that the assailants opened fire on a taxi that resulted in the death of six people.

A senior local police official Malik Arshad confirmed the incidents and casualties and said: "The killings were part of sectarian violence in the city."
In another incident of firing, unidentified assailants riding bikes opened fire on people standing on a roadside on Sabzal road, in which one person identified as Gul Muhammad was killed while another, identified as Muhammad Hasan, was injured. The dead and the wounded were shifted to BMC hospital.

In a third incident, gunmen opened fire at a policeman, who succumbed to his wounds, within the jurisdiction of Shalkot police station.

It is really important to note that the above mentioned incidents are continuity in the series of incidents that have been occurring in the last 3 weeks or so. No member of Hazara community seems to be safe and can be targeted anywhere within the city without much difficulty.

The city is claimed to be properly guarded by police and Frontier Corps (FC) yet their arrangements prove to be undeterred. In fact, the Balochistan provincial government seems to have completely failed in countering such incidents, which seem to be making a mockery of their designs (if there is any) to control the situation.

As a matter of fact, the Chief Minister of Balochistan Aslam Raisani has not only failed to prove that he has a good sense of humor but has also failed in providing security to the people. His own brother Siraj Raisani is believed to be involved in kidnapping for ransom and other evil deeds.

The possibilities are quite likely that he has some connections with the network involved in such killings. It is the connection of the culprits from within the government and security agencies themselves that has made the steps difficult to be taken against them. Otherwise, if it was only the matter of a bunch of goons, even the week police of the city could prove enough to control them.

Prior to these incidents there is a series of such attacks that have left no doubt that assailants are up to some very heinous objectives. On April 13, 2012, in an attack the assailants killed two Hazara watchmen of a shopping mall in the center of the city while day prior to that, on Thursday April 12, two Hazara shopkeepers were shot dead and another injured while they were passing their routine.

The list of these killings is really lengthy - On Monday 9th, April 2012 six Hazaras were killed and five others received serious bullet injuries when terrorists opened indiscriminate firing on the shop of Hazaras. Two of them were murdered on Tuesday 3rd, April 2012 by terrorists while nine Hazaras including a woman and a minor girl were killed in a two separate killing incidents on March 29th, 2012.

Yet in another ruthless incident on Monday March 26th, 2012, unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate firing on the shop of Hazaras on Sabzal Road Quetta, which resulted in the death of a Hazara ironsmith while his co-worker (Hazara) received serious bullet injuries. Apart from these incidents some of earlier incidents were really inhuman - 13 Hazara people were mercilessly shot on October 4, 2011, while about 7 were seriously injured.

The incident took place when some gunmen stopped a bus that was going from Burori Road to Hazar Ganji, Quetta. They segregated the Hazara people from the bus, made them stand in a line and opened fired on them. This incident was the second of its type as the first one had happened almost two weeks earlier than the incident in quite similar fashion near Mastung, which resulted in the death of 26 people and injury to many others.

The banned Lashkar-e-Jangvi (LeJ) has claimed responsibility for most of the incidents. The group has proved to be very lethal; especially for the Shiites of Pakistan as the group possesses an extremist version of a particular Sunni school of thought that has no tolerance for Shiites and consider them "Kafir"(infidel) and therefore worthy to be killed.

Hazaras of Quetta belong to Shiite sect of Islam and are easily distinguishable from their fellow citizens because of their Mongolian physiological features – especially facial features. And most importantly, they are minority; therefore, they are very easy target for the group, which has decided to turn Quetta in a graveyard for the Hazaras.

The high intentions of the group clearly point at the fact that it is much confident about the support it gets. There are reports that suggest that culprits from within the system are on its back and keep on patting its members on the back to continue their ill-intentions.

In reaction to these incidents Hazaras have come up with peaceful processions and demonstrations. However, it is not possible to control such tyranny for long without being violent. If the protestors turn violent, the city may face great loss in different ways.

Moreover, there are possibilities that the ethnic distinction in the city may become sharper and may ultimately result into a clash among the different ethnic groups (Balochs, Pashthuns and Hazaras). The governor of the province himself, while talking with the protestors, accepted that a civil war may erupt if proper measures are not carried out to control the situation.

Therefore, the government of Pakistan has to make sure to tackle the situation appropriately before it is too late. The concerns about the Balochistan province are already on the rise. Insecurity and lawlessness will further deteriorate the situation. The dissatisfaction of the province and the growing hatred for the government will do no good to the Pakistani state.