Hazar Ganji blast: PM Imran finally makes condolence trip to Quetta

Imran announces 5% quota in Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme for families of Hazar Ganji martyrs

QUETTA:

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who reached Quetta on a brief visit on Sunday, finally met the families of the Hazar Ganji suicide blast martyrs.

He expressed his grief over the loss of lives in the attack, condoled with the families and offered Fateha.

The prime minister announced a 5% quota for the families in the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said terrorists were targeting the Hazara community for the last several years. “We stand with the Hazaras and the government would fulfill its obligation of providing them with security,” he added.

“The present government has taken a firm decision to take strict action against terrorists and would foil the nefarious designs of the enemy with joint efforts.”



The prime minister assured the community that the people involved in the attack would be brought to the justice.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was previously scheduled to visit Quetta on April 18 but the trip was postponed owing to the reshuffle in the federal cabinet.

At least 22 people were martyred and several others injured when an explosion went off at a vegetable market in Quetta on April 12. The bomb detonated near a site where produce was being loaded for distribution around the market. The majority of the victims belonged to the Hazara community. One Frontier Corps soldier was also martyred.

Following the attack, the Hazara community staged a four-day long sit-in on the Western Bypass, demanding implementation of the National Action Plan, the arrest of the perpetrators and an earnest effort by the state authorities to fulfill their responsibility of providing security to its people. They specifically asked Imran to visit the southwestern city and assure them of security.



The sit-in was called off after Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan promised the minority community that justice will be served.

President Arif Alvi, Minister of State for Interior Sheryar Afridi, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are among the prominent personalities who visited the Imam Bargah to condemn the attack and grieve with the victims’ families.

Hazaras have been frequently targeted by militant groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since 2012, attacks against the ethnic Hazara community, have been on the rise. Hazara casualties include everyone from students and government employees to sportsmen.