QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead six people, including a police official, here on Sunday, police officials said.
A group of armed men riding on two motorbikes opened fire on people sitting in a shop in Sarki area of Quetta. According to police, four people, including a father and his son who were sitting inside a welding shop on Essa Khan Road were killed on the spot.
“They entered a welding shop when workers were having their lunch and killed five people,” senior police officer Jahangir Shah said, adding that the dead included four members of the Hazara community and one passer-by.
Before fleeing they also opened fire on a police patrol, killing one policeman and wounding a police official, Shah said.
A heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps (FC) reached the crime scene and cordoned off the area while the deceased and injured were taken to the Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta where one of the policemen succumbed to his injures upon arrival at hospital.
According to sources, two of the assailants were also injured in retaliatory firing by the police but they escaped from the scene of the crime.
“Four of the victims belonged to the Shia community and it could be a case of sectarian target killing,” a senior police official said.
The deceased were identified as Haji Abdul Nabi and his son Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Tariq and Abdul Manan.
The passerby was identified as Naqeebullah and the police constable as Hayatullah.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. A case has been registered against the unidentified persons and an investigation is under way. Sunday’s attack came as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani flew to Quetta to discuss the law and order situation in the province, officials said.
(With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2012.
COMMENTS (8)
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I am sure this is being orchestrated by USA / Indian agencies but offcourse the doers are all Pakistanis. Apparently, even in this small city the killers are never caught. Considering that the entire city of Quetta has thousands of FC men stationed it is really hard to imagine anyone carrying weapons on a motorbike. This surely is a case of someone being part of it all. If the killings of Hazara minority does not stop, I fear a full scale civil war in the city. That's exactly what the foreign agencies want across Pakistan, specially across Balochistan.
How come when a shia Hazara Community is targetted, the killers escape un hurt, unidentified, but when a suni Maulana is killed, the killers are arrested in no time.
Only aggressive military operation in Balochistan will solve this issue but no one is willing to give the green light for this for fear of offending traitors and their supporters who turn everything into the state "oppressing" locals.
Dont worry Prime Miniser Gilani is in Balochistan with the 35,000 jobs for youth. This would lure thes fanatics off their killing job. What a share is this civil facade.
Condolences to the bereaved family members.
If people of balochistan have issue with central government then what this labour community has to do with it. This is pure ethnic cleansing. Quetta is more acting like Karachi of 1990's needs a big operation clean but no body would do it because the current government or political don't have any stake for people of balochistan.
This is the height of brutality in a lawless Province. Despite of increasing lawlessness and brutal act of terror against innocent civilians, the Provincial chief is still in a view that his Province is peaceful and nothing wrong is going on here. The Provincial government and her security agencies have no fear of Allah and about their accountability on judgment day. How do they react if same tragedy happens to their own family? Would the still have the same views? All my condolences to the victim’s families who lost their loved ones and their only bread-earners.