Two members of Hazara community injured in Dasht

Security officials moved the injured to CMH for security reasons.

QUETTA: Two people belonging to the Hazara community were injured while their three companions escaped unhurt when the car they were riding was attacked by a group of armed men near Dasht area in Mastung district on Wednesday.

According to an official of the Balochistan Levies, the five were travelling to Quetta from Mach town in a car when a group of armed men opened fire at them near Tera Mill area in Dasht. As a result of the attack, Jawad Ahmed and Khadem Hussain sustained bullet wounds while three others in the car escaped unhurt. The attackers managed to make good their escape after committing the crime.

Assistant Commissioner Dasht, Nasir Ahmed Jattak and Naib Tehsildar Mohammad Ramzan along with personnel of the Balochistan Levies reached the spot and cordoned off the area.

The injured were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment.

However, officials were unsure whether the attack was a sectarian attack or related to something else. “It could be an incident of sectarian targeted killing. However, a manhunt has been mounted in the area for the culprits,” an official told reporters.

The injured were later referred to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) because of security concerns.

It is pertinent to mention that as many as 26 pilgrims belonging to Hazara community were forced off a passenger bus,lined up before being shot in the dead. Similarly, a man was shot dead and another wounded in Quetta as part of a targeted attack. Both belonged to the Hazara community.

Law enforcing agencies have beefed up security on national highways and in Quetta after the attacks on Hazara community surged over the past year.