Quetta comes to standstill over Hazara deaths

KABUL‘s southwestern Balochistan province came to a standstill as members of the Hazara tribe took to the streets on Tuesday against the killing of four people from the minority community.

Late on Monday evening, the four men of the Hazara Shia community were killed and two others injured during an attack on the Masjid Road Quetta. The men were going home after closing their electronic shop.

Gunmen on a motorcycle fired on their vehicle before escaping from the scene, police said, adding there had been no clue to the killers so far. Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch ordered the police to arrest the culprits immediately.

Enraged by the overnight assault, the Hazara Democratic Party’s call for the shutdown in Quetta drew a strong response from members of the tribe, human rights campaigners and civil society activists.

Geo News, monitored in Kabul, quoted Hazara Political Workers Party head, Muhammad Tahir Hazara, as warning of launching a civil disobedience movement if the tribe’s genocide was not halted.

“We will approach United Nations and other human rights groups if the killings are not stopped,” he said, accusing law-enforcement agencies of failing to protect the community.

Markets in Bacha Khan Square, Liaquat Bazaar, on Toghi Road, Mariabad, Abdul Sattar, Archer and Masjid roads, in Kandahari Bazaar and adjoining areas remained closed.

PAN Monitor/mud