Pakistan – Minority Shia Hazaras took up on the streets in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta after a suicide bomb claimed 19 people in an outdoor bazar – marking the third of a sit-in protest.
Dozens were wounded in the Friday blast on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of resource-rich Baluchistan province, officials said. Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Hazaras have been frequently targeted by Taliban and Islamic State militants and other Sunni Muslim militant groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Reuters reported.
“We’ve lost hundreds of our loved ones in the last 10 years,” Tahir Hazara, leading the sit-in, told Reuters. “The government failed to protect our community. Terrorists are free to target us.”
The chants echo round and round as some saying: “Stop killing Hazaras,” “Down with terrorism and sectarianism.”
The protesters, who include many women and children, have set up camps and burn wood to keep warm at night. One police official said there were about 200 people taking part on Sunday, blocking the key arterial Western Bypass leading into Quetta, the London-based news agency reported.
Meanwhile, dozens further Hazaras gathered in the southern city of Karachi, some holding signs saying “Shia lives matter”.
Friday’s bloodshed came two days after authorities freed Ramzan Mengal, a top leader of a banned sectarian group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Quetta police chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.
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