QUETTA: Pakistan should "urgently act" to protect Shia Muslims from rising sectarian attacks that have killed hundreds this year, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
At least 320 Shias have been killed in targeted attacks this year across Pakistan, including more than 100 in Balochistan, the majority from the Hazara community, the US-based group it said in a statement.
"Deadly attacks on Shia communities across Pakistan are escalating," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in the same statement.
"The government's persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organising the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage," Adams said.
The rights watchdog said militant groups such as the "ostensibly banned" Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) had operated with "widespread impunity" across Pakistan while law enforcement officials looked the other way.
Adams said the arrest last month of of LeJ leader Malik Ishaq, who has been accused of killing some 70 people, was "an important test for Pakistan's criminal justice system".
Some extremist groups are known to be "allies" of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the Frontier Corps, HRW said.
On September 1, four gunmen riding two motorbikes intercepted a bus near the Hazarganji area of Quetta, pulled five Shia vegetable sellers off the vehicle and shot them dead.
On August 30, unidentified gunmen shot dead Shia judge Zulfiqar Naqvi along with his driver and police bodyguard.
Sectarian conflict has left thousands of people dead since the late 1980s.
In one of the bloodiest recent attacks, on August 16 gunmen dragged 20 Shia travelers off a bus and killed them at point blank range in northern Pakistan.
"Pakistan's government cannot play the role of unconcerned bystander as the Shia across Pakistan are slaughtered," Adams said.
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The problem when dealing with Pakistanis is that you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.
@azfar: Right. Since an outside power is killing terrorists and in the process some civilians die too, we will continue to launch targeted attacks on one of our own Muslim communities and try to tie them together in public. Dude an outsider is saying get your house in order as it is way too out of order and this is your response. No wonder we are in such a fix.
Anybody comparing Shia killings with drones, NWFP, Karachi or any other event is just trying to ignore the issue. Shias are killed left and right with the blessings of our law enforcement agencies and some political parties.
@Wajid: Selection critieria for Shia killing is strictly Shia, i.e., they filter out shias from the people and shot them dead or they attack shia places to cause shia casualties. Wherea the other terrorism acts (bombing in markets) etc the purpose is to kill randomly and cause terror. People who got killed in them are also innocent but they could be anyone and just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. By probability most of those would be from majority sect. Situation is much more serious and grave when your only crime is in which family you were born....it is not necessarily for shia sympathy but for our own sake as first we will be answerable and second it will be our turn if we don't stop it now. You are right on one count that the killers who are killing shias are the same as the one who are doing other terrorism making it all the more important to address it.
HRW has talked about drones, Syria, Karachi and every other human rights abuse there is. Kindly go to the articles where they are already posted or their own website instead of imparting ignorance and falsehood.
Its clear how active the prejudice and bigotry is by some of those (can see the few comments by those who usually support violent L-e-J and Malik Ishaq around here) who deny, deflect and derail from discussing the crisis of anti-Shia sectarian cleansing and terrorism, a few with full conspiratorial flare.
Why every thing has to be linked with drones attack because person A is killed in Drone Attack hence person B's killing is justified .
Zardari himself is Shia - why isnt he speaking up?
Those who are comparing drone attack with shia genocide, are you out of your mind. The drones are targeting terrorists...yes terrorist. If wahhabis happen to be terrorists and cowards as they are hiding among women and children, its their faults. They are targeting shia just for being shia. Drones are targeting terrorists that are creating havoc everywhere including Pakistan. There is huge difference.
@Nadir: True. in fact no shia is being persecuted in pakistan. all those news and videos about the shia and ahmedi killings are fake and doctored.
Religion is a personal matter. Its teachings should be used to follow its ethical values. It should be used to make us better human beings and responsible citizens. As far as politics is concerned, religion should not have any role in it. The unfortunate part is that we do not get inspiration from our religion to reform our personalities but we use its name for political gains and achieving our nefarious designs. We must not follow the mullahs. Otherwise, we are doomed. Allama Iqbal aptly said : DIN-I-MULLAH FASAAD FI SABILILLAH.
To those who are mentioning drone attacks, yes it is condemnable and should be stopped and justice be provided by Pakistan to all of these terrorists who are now unfortunately beyond repair. It is our failure to act for our own good that has brought these drone attack on ourselves. And if we don't stop the shia targeting and punish the killers quickly, then pretty soon none of us will be safe as these barbarians will not stop at shias... already they have started targeting anyone who is even remotely different from them. It is a matter of all of us survival.
Only a secular Pakistan can servive . It would be also good for secular India to deal with the problem of sporadic communal violence in different states . Pakistan has to forget Kashmir for the sake her estability otherwise it will perish . Pakistani Islam being nurished and propagated by mullas is the root cause of bloodshed in the region . Now Drones have identified it and treating accordingly . It will take 10 more years to deal with the problem .
HRW is more concerned about pakistanis than the holy judges, the moral brigade of media, and the ghairat brigade combined. The latter have more interest in guarding the rights of terrorists, and the business ventures of the judges.
Welcome Human Rights for your comments, Every Pakistani should be welcome this cause our Govt. is fail to do anything about it. infect Govt. ministers and judges are involved to free terrorists from jails...
Dear All, It is 21st Century and the era of reason and rational therefore, Kindly lets appreciate effect of HRW on this subject. Ref @ to Muslim State: As a Muslim we should not forget that our history is full of bloodshed - This is what we are good at! Killing people in the name of Religion, which is strongly prohibited in Islam. Please differentiate Islam and its followers particularly the Saudi brand of Islam, which has created all problem internationally, regionally and locally! Please stop violence in the name of religion, otherwise, this Country is going for a Civil War between Sunni Shia Alliance against Wahabbi Saudi/Deaobanis - It is beginning of the end unless we act sensibly and refrain from killing Muslim and Non-Muslim (Human Beings) In name of religion, sect, and ethnicity! Wake up and raise your voice against every injustice!
what about drone killings,karachi killings,and Sunni Pathans killing in Gilgit-Baltistan.
On karakoram highway near nager almost 8 incidents took place within 03 months of short time. killing of Innocent sunnis in streets of Giglit city. These are CIA's tactics in sunni majority countries it covertly backs shias and in shia majority countries CIA backs Sunni minorities. The major agenda is that ,how CIA could destablize muslim countries.
CIA helps syrian sunnis and at the same time it helped Iraqi shias too.
this is what CIA whats us to fight by ourselves.
@ahmer: Good point
what about killing in Karachi and drone strike terrorism by USA
@Nadir: U mean Shias were not killed..........or killed by US......The same HRW critised India on Kashmir and US its prison laws.........
Don't blame everything on others..........
This is indeed a good "push". Lets hope it gets implemented practically. And what about pushing Pakistan to urgently protect other innocents and minority sects as well?
What can the Pakistan government do?
We are not interested in genocide being carried out within Pakistan. We are only worried for Kashmir and Burma.
We need to control the situation otherwise it goes worst. Shia Sunni Conflict is not good for muslims and Pakistan
@ Human Right Watch: Please open your eyes on drone attacks as well otherwise stay away!
What a shame that an international body has to appeal to Pakistan, an Islamic Republic to protect its Muslim community.
And what about human rights watch in Syria ?
proved- HRW is controlled by USA and antipakistanis to defame us
At last.... Too late, still better thn never.
What about the drone killings in Pakistan ? Doesn't Human Right Watch see that?