PESHAWAR/ DI KHAN: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility of pulling 20 Shia from a bus and killing them at point blank range in Mansehra on Thursday.
In a message, TTP Dara Adam Khel/ Khyber Agency spokesman Muhammad Afridi said that the people killed were Shias who are involved in killing Sunnis against the will of Islam. “We will target them in the future,” he said.
Earlier during the day, gunmen pulled 20 Shias from a bus and shot them dead in the third such incident in six months, officials confirmed.
The incident happened in the northwestern district of Mansehra as the bus was travelling between Rawalpindi and Gilgit.
Officials said it was ambushed in the hills of Babusar Top, around 100 miles (160 kilometres) north of Islamabad, although they differed over details of the incident.
“Ten to 12 people wearing army uniform stopped the bus and forced some people off the bus,” said Khalid Omarzai, administration chief in Mansehra.
“After checking their papers, they opened fire and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed. This is initial information and the final toll may go up. They are all Shias,” he said.
Local police official Shafiq Gul told AFP that the gunmen were masked, but said the victims were pulled from three separate vehicles in the district, which neighbours the Swat valley, a former Taliban stronghold.
“They stopped three vehicles, searched them and picked up people in three batches of five, six and nine and shot them dead. They were all Shias,” he said.
Sectarian violence linked to Gilgit, a popular tourist destination for wealthy Pakistanis and expatriates who live in the country, has increased in recent months.
It is the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan and is popular with mountaineers as a gateway to the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges.
On February 28, gunmen in military fatigues hauled 18 Shiite Muslim men off buses travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit in the northern district of Kohistan, shooting them dead in cold blood.
On April 3, a Sunni Muslim mob dragged nine Shia Muslims from buses and also shot them dead in the town of Chilas, about 60 miles south of Gilgit.
Human rights groups have heavily criticised Pakistan for failing to crack down on sectarian violence between the country’s majority Sunni and minority Shiite communities that has killed thousands.
Correction: An earlier version of this article had wrongly reported that the passengers were Sunnis. The error is deeply regretted. The reporter's copy has been replaced with an AFP copy.
COMMENTS (215)
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Dear Readers, Shia or Sunni. I'm a 64 year old professor, shia by birth, have been listening to Sunni and Shia speakers. One I asked a Shia as to why he keeps speaking ill of Sunnis? Don't they go to Masajids, recite the Holy Qur'an, observe (Celebrate is not a proper word) Mahay Syyaam more fervently as we.. The attend punctually Traveeh, we Shias don't. Is their anything lacking in them following Islamic tenets? The other day I approached a learned Sunni Maulana, told him who I was: asked him,the same questions. He was a highly educated and thorough Sunni Muslim, his reply was almost the same as that of the Shia's. Finally he lamented that The miscreants are not qualified enough to utter anything against any. the quacks of both sided want money, One day I showed both of the clippings of Zionist press, and their Anti-Christian and Anti-Muslim schemes. It's not Jews but Zionist, who've billions of dollars to flood Muslims of 3rd word, with the La aanty claim that these Muslims are greedy and swallow their bait in, no time.. DOES REAL ISLAM SUPPORTS BLOODSHED, AND/OR LABELING ANY ONE,EVEN A KAAFIR AS KAFFIR????
Shame on the Pakistani law enforcing and intelligence agencies. These monters were created by our agencies with aid from the Americans and the Saudis. This is a slap on the face of Islamic Republic of Pakistan where we have failed to protect our people, our self-respect and our dignity. We are a nation of shameless leaders and a general population who do not care unless their own homes are set alight. Wake up Pakistan before we become history and our shameless leaders live happily far away.
Dear Shia-Sunni haters!
Open your eyes and mind. See what's happening in Damascus, and other Muslim countries; don't they worship Allah, Prophet Mohammad SAW, believe Holy Qura'an as the Book of Revelation, Qiyama alike. The WHY all this INHUMAN???? After 1400 years. Clergies are on the payroll of US/ Zionists. Beware. .
@Jibran: very true jibran , i agree with you
What they check from NIC? if your name is Ali, Hassan, Hussain, Mehdi, Abbas you will be shot dead by talibans.
Muslims killing Muslims of whatever sect; Pakistan has lost its raison d'etre!
shame
These barbarian Taliban's are not antishia rather they are antiPakistan; they want to destroy Pakistan. A few more attacks like these and people of Baltistan can demand separation from Pakistan. Wake up call for patriotic Pakistanis. Destroy Talibans or get ready for balkanisation of the country.
It is time for pakistan demise,another 10 years will be disappeared from the pages of history. Sunni majority will clean shoes of hindus.
@Jibran: you are very optimistic
@The Truth: This should be the best solution for saving future genocides.
Shias in Pakistan will soon have to migrate to save their lives. It is not just a few misguided Sunnis who think that killing of Shias is justified. Recent pew survey reports that 50% Sunnis do not consider that Shias are Muslims. It means that 50% of Pakistan condones such killings. Under this situation there is only option for Shias:run before purgation of this country. It is not a civil war; it is genocide.
@Shocked: Why do you comment on Rohingyas.You are as foreign to Burma,as India is to Pakistan. Indian can comment as some Pakistanis tend to play the foreign hand
The people who did this barbaric act belong to the same line of ancestors who were involved in the killing of Imam Hussain (A.S), and the rest of progeny of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). People should open their eyes and see the truth themselves.
The name Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan is such a CIA created name. No terrorist sitting in Waziristan can come up with this. Tehreek is a very Pakistan centric Urdu word, this will give it an indigenous flavor, for local consumption. Taliban, so the world links it to extremism and terrorism, and then bring in Pakistan, in order to associate pakistan and Taliban together. The sooner we recognize the truth, the better it is for us.
Why you guys are not condemned this coward act by Taliban. They are not Muslim, they are paid Killer of Saudi and U.A.E. Now where is C.J of Pak. No So Motto action against these Monsters. They were released by So Called Honorable Courts. Shame on all those people who think that Taliban are Muslims. They are Pigs. From now, Talibans are Called by there nature "mean PIG".
They were all muslims . . . for god sake plz show some unity . . .
We are not pure Muslims. We are converted Muslims. This bloodshed should have not been there if our forefathers continue to be Hindus.
Please i request to all dnt say Shias and Sunnis but all are human beings Secondly i will request to the concerend deppartmnts where the people who broke the jail and ran away,all of them were involve last time bus firing. thay broke the jail and did the same killing innocent people,Shame on them after doing such things thay call them selves Muslim .........
I agree with some of the above posters. This will probably lead to the creation of a Pakistani Hezbollah for retaliation. When that happens, it's all over...
There is need to investigate if the conflict with the TTP has a sectarian dimension? If so, is it one-sided?
Such people should be hanged openly in public. Govt should control these enemies of Pakistan and Muslims. Such people should be crushed strongly with the help of forces.
@Awans: See turkey and india, how they prosper , Keep religion out of administration
If Govt arrested the terrorists of Kohistan, Chillas and Minawer than this new accident would not happend so I wish the Govt of Pakistan must relize thier duty and provide protection and security to Shia. I want to give a sugestion that in KKH the militery personnels should deploy and secure the road by patroling in packets. I also request to all those who thinks that they are humane beings must condemn this accident the killers are not muslims they are totally enemies of islam and Pakistan. I pray to God that the souls of those Shaheeds keep in eternal peace and give courage to thier relatives to bear such irreparable lose
Ghulam Muhammad Astore Dasskharam
TTP the murderers of shias vs the Buddists killers of muslims in Mayamer. The TTP has beaten their counterparts in ruthlessness, inhumanness, brutality and savagery. Nobody can match them in these traits.
@Peace: sure only if pakistan privides Visas for Sunni Muslims of India. for permanent settlement in Pakistan.. period.
@Shocked:
whether indians are needed or not is not upto you to decide. Afterall, it was this tunnel vision of ignoring extremism, because of which talibans got to rule afghanistan for full five years, and established an emirates of oppression.
the world has changed much today, and is not ready to let any country implode itself. also, india has a very large population of shias and sunnis, and any such event in pakistan, is bound to influence shia-sunni relations in my country too. so, it is with respect to my country that me and all other indians are speaking.
Adnan. You have misunderstood. There was never a true muslim after Muhammed and a true christian after Jesus. The rest are all fakes claiming to be followers of Islam and playing violent politics Shocked. Indians wont be here but for the fact you guys keep blaming RAW for all your internal problems and keep shouting Gazwa e Hind all the time. Indians wont be here but for the fact that there is a mass migration of hindus into India Indians wont be here but for the fact your state sponcers terrorist attacks on India Indians wont be here but for your distinction between bad terrorists and good terrorists Indians are here to drum the points above and rectify our neighbourhood. Indians accept that fortunately your country is not a part of India and you are not part of India. But unfortunately you happen to be our neighbour who keeps poking into India too often inspite of getting it bloodied.
this is 3rd incident of huge killing of innocent shia muslims in the same region. apparently responsibility is claimed by TTP which proves that taliban has active links with the terrorist groups in Gilgit. without local assistance some outsider can not specify who is shia and who is sunni as the sect is not written on ID cards.
secondly i would say that their is no any proxy war, there is no any retaliation from shia side they are just organizing demonstations and burying the killed. during the previous 2 incidents hundreds of sunnis were traped in Nagar valley which is totally a shia region. the traped ones could be killed in response to the kohistan and chilas killings but instead they were handed over to authorities by local residents. so please this is time to realise the facts, dont spread wrong information to nutralize the situation
@Mard-e-Haq:
And then would start the fight between various factions of Taliban on the issue of who is the purer Muslim.
@Babloo:
Incidentally, it was Shias and Ahmedis who played major role in materializing the fundamentally intolerant two nation theory. Too sad that Pakistani Hindus forgot the principle of karma once they converted to Islam.
When a time will come when sunnis of paksitan will speak up against shia gneocide. We have no hope from our media and judiciary.
If this is Islamic, and serving religions then I don't mind calling my self a non Islamic person.
May God give us the courage to get Pakistani back on Track.
As someone who grew up with Shias believing that sectarian differences were irrelevant and unimportant, I find this news deeply troubling and even horrifying. Luckily we live in a country where much of our top brass is dominated by Shias and on a general level, sectarian rifts are less prominent. Incidents like this do occur, but in my personal experience the average Pakistani is less concerned about sect than say, the average Iraqi.
That being said, all these Indian commentors are not needed here. They come to tell us how terrible the state of our sectarian divisons/country is, but who are they to tell us? To me an Indian commenting is just as foreign as a Nigerian or a Ukranian commenting, this is our issue and we need to sort it out, we are not Indians nor are we a part of India, we don't need to compare ourselves to anyone, just press our government and society to take greater notice of this and do something ourselves. The unemployed Indians need to find better venues for their strange hate filled fascination with our country, which as I see it, is a one way fascination and quite odd.
Thank you Express Tribune for bringing this issue to the fore. Let us hope for better times.
Any idea, when this indifference and intolerance will end and we become Pakistani's??? Or will we remained pruned to this sectarian massacres????
It seems the Taliban are emulating the Nazi's more closely which is ironic as they are so against any one who is not a Muslim!
@vasan: Step out of that illusion already! Look around you - its Muslims killing Muslims only. Pashtuns, Balochis, Shias, Ahmedis etc
Why is Pak society so tolerant of Shia genocide? Mark my words ur silence wud compel Shia yuth to take up arms in defense & all wud regret.
Jahil online and others like him promote this hatred
Their is only one solution FIGHT BACK, like what shias did in 90s by the name of sipah-e-Mohammad. These talibans only understand the a language of bullets. If government, army and supreme court has its eyes close, rising up is the only solution. And those who are not realizing what goes on these days must remember Shias are 40% of Pakistan and they are capable of fighting back unlike Hindus and ahmedis who were forced to move out of Pakistani mainstream. I hate to see civil war being forced on Pakistan.
@Nahi Maanta: they were killed simply becos they were shia. its wasnt a random act of terrorism. it was targeted towards a particular community hence the correctness of the heading stands
Acorn guts! U got it right, come on mullahs why not show act of force against this,why only Burmese Muslims..we need to sort things at home!!!
In Lebanon, the Shias were always unarmed and non-political. Then, in the early 80s, they decided that they were tired of being attacked and killed by enemies on all sides: Jews, Sunnis, Christians, Druze. So what did they do? They created the world's largest and most sophisticated private fighting force/militia/guerrilla army which is, to this day, feared the world over. This was an initiative of a tiny percentage of the Shias in Lebanon and since then, no one has dared to attack Shias in Lebanon. As an unintended consequence of committing genocide against Shias in Lebanon, the Shias only grew stronger and more powerful.
Therefore, it is highly possible that if even 0.5% of Pakistan's Shias decides that they are not going to accept being atargeted for genocide anymore, then what you will probably see is a repeat of the Lebanon scenario.
Hence, people should always remember the unintended consequences, and the Pakistani Shias should thank TTP/LeJ/certain govt officials/ and their financiers in the US Embassy in advance!
Could we please take off Islamic Republic before our country's name? Could we please take the Ahmedi declaration out of the passport? I have the right to have my country's passport and I don't appreciate being blackmailed into stating something I do not want to Could we either equivocally denounce and condemn TTP, Difa-e-Pakistan and taliban apologists or could we denounce and condemn those that are not willing to do this? Could we please remove the blasphemy law? What's the worse that can happen that already hasn't or doesn't? Could we focus on people dying in this country rather than corruption of elite 'laadlas'? Finally, could we have our version of 'raakshas' burning every year near the mazar that contains the infamous dentures. I'd go and relieve myself there but my excrements would be contaminated
A group and there spokesperson has admitted the slaughter, next step is for the goverment to take action against the miscreants. But i very much doubt that they will, even with all the information at hand. Sad fact is the goverment is only interested in lining there pockets and they are no longer ashamed about doing that in public. Yet the lives of civillians are like nothing to them. Shame on the lot of them and all those who stand by and stay silent while innocent lives are taken. May Allah grant patience to the familys of the deceased. And Allah have mercy on there souls.
May God save islam from Pakistan
They killed Shias to ignite sectarian civil war in Pakistan. But its not Sunni who killed Shia its Wahhabi who are doing such cruelty. They kill Shia and Sunni together.
When Shias are killed is it only the men who are killed or is it both men and woman who get killed? If only men are killed what do the Sunnis do with the Shia woman? I know the obvious thing they would do, but am asking the about conversion.
@Ch. Allah Daad: That is how Kashmir became a Muslim majority state. People were terrorized, were forced to convert, die or leave.
Same thing one day will happen to Shias and Ahmadis. Mullahs have done a good job at brianwashing Sunnis.
Welcome to the the land created to "protect" Islam and Indian Muslims from Hindu tyranny.
Will our "Truly Independent" Judiciary take notice?
@Ali: "It is not extremism on both ends as some would like to call it. It is one sided extremism. Killing of shias!!!"
I feel the same way, but sooner or later Shias will have to fight back to survive.
Some people may just terrorize Shias so that they move and they can get their properties cheap
Will our sunni brothers blood start to boil once they see regular attack on innocent sunni by shias? Once they start to read the news that its always the sunnis getting killed by shias, i doubt they would be calling killings a random human loss
@Usman Khan: R u suggesting a Pakistani Spring?
Government is not going to arrest killers as it is not serious in giving security to public. Innocent people were killed in Kohistan and Chilas. Not a single person was arrested yet. Shame
@Falcon: This is how pundits and Sikhs were forced to leave some cities in Kashmir. In one instance LeT terrorists wearing Indian army uniform killed 35 Sikhs before President Clinton's visit to India. Paki media blamed Indian army for the attack. Attack made other Sikh families to leave the area and aslo caused a temporary divide between Sikhs and Indian army.
Same type of techniques will be used against Shias and Ahmadis.
Things could get lot worse after NATO/US troops leave. Lot of Jihadis will need work, prize of suicide bombers may go down. Sunnis may use this opportunity to get rid of Shias and Ahmadis.
The Mullah's have destroyed what was supposed to be paradise and made it Hell on Earth. Now it is time for some strong measures from the people - simply refuse to go to the Mosque. Allah is within everybody and around us. Until the Mullah's come out categorically and say that every one who claims to believe in Allah and calls himself a Muslim is a Muslim irrespective of which denomination of Islam he follows. Nobody needs to go to the Mosque because the Almighty resides in every home, let this be the beginning of a new dawn. Also let every Muslim renounce the Gun because the Gun is oppressor and Allah is only the protector. Gandhi and Badsha Khan are revered by millions if not billions because they believed that God Almighty is out protector and that violence cannot solve a single human problem. Sadly Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu fanatic even though life long he refused to differentiate people across gender, caste, religion or race and Abdul Gaffar Khan who spent 30 precious years of his life in jail fighting for freedom was not even recognized as a citizen by his country --- such is our pathetic human race.
@Aman: Muslim killing Muslim. Demise of two nation theory. The demise happened in 1971 dude... This is just cremation underway....
May Allah save us from these savages who kill people and spread bloodshed in the country. They attack people, they attack military installations, they want to create anarchy in the country. It is time to fight the mindset creating such savages.
@Naveed Hunzai: yes, blame India-Israel-USA for this...I wonder do you blame these countries even when child cries in Pakistan?
**Many are suggesting that Shia or Sunni should not be mentioned and those killed should be referred as Muslims or Humans. It would be the best if those killed are simply mentioned as KAUFERS. After all is it not what they actually are?
On another note, Altaf Hussein should seriously think of coming back to Pakistan. He has been issuing sensible statements from London but it appears only his physical presence in Pakistan can change the situation. The Judiciary and Army should work things out with Altaf Hussein and assure him of complete protection in Pakistan. **
The truth is that right from the inception of Pakistan, religious parties, supported by a right-wing, nationalistic establishment, sought to put an extremist ideology at the heart of the new state. Zia was a product of this ethos. When he declared Pakistan to be the laboratory of Islam, he meant it, and began experimenting like a mad scientist in search of the secret of transmuting base metal into gold. We are still suffering from his demented tinkering.
Whatever school of thought they belonged to, its just horrible, plain horrible
I agree with Nahi Maanta. . This is not the time for finger pointing. There is enough blame to go around. Some people have been killed. In Pakistan, what really kills is poverty. Rich of every community are safe. The poor are killed. The rich would not be taking the bus. They would be flying high. So sad Pakistan has not eradicated poverty yet. Let's focus on that. Other problems will automatically go away.
Shia Genocide is happening in the name of Sunni Pakistanis, Mullahs and extremist are powerful because common Pakistanis support them. So all Sunni Pakistanis have blood in their hands...every time you see the mirror -- remember that! I wish GB was with India...this would not have happened!
@Nahi Maanta
Why mention the sect in the headline? How about writing > 20 people killed by terrorists ? Is that difficult?
And how about writing in the Constitution all Pakistanis are equal?
Is that difficult?
Very sad.It was ZAB bhutoo a shia leader who introduced faith based treatment of the citizens.
shame on ET for reporting wrong version earlier. the country cannot brave these type of typo errors. though it might be taken as bad intention.
A lot of people are crying out, why are they being identified as shia and not Human beings. But it begs to be asked, why then when muslims are killed in riots do you not say "human beings" were killed? Why then is there a great fervor of Islamic brotherhood.
The fact is you are a bunch of hypocrites, who will keep segregating. First get all the Non Muslims, then the next level, get Shia, Ahmadis (or maybe they will go with the non muslims) then probably further segregation.
Islam may have been conceived as a religion of peace, it certainly is not an embodiment of a religion of peace, atleast not in the subcontinent.
Do realize that your own ancestors were probably converted with utter brutality and disdain.
Poor reporting by ET. Express Group moving from bad to worse.
Is it possible to divide the country in two, Sunni Pakistan & Shia Pakistan. Love all-Hate none
What to say i mean thanks to GREAT Zia Ul Haq we will be cutting the crop he planted in late 70's , still i see no post on social website about killing in Parachinar and Bahrian but yea i do see post muslim killing in Burma. Third incident in 6month . Really feeling down very sad day . We do not need US to invade us we are good enought to kill each other in the name of God or sectarian or ethinic or any other excuse. Enjoy ur day eid is coming who care let Taliban kill everything and believe you me when they done killing shia muslim they start killing others cuz this is in their blood to kill
Please dont kill them. send them to India. regards
Reporting the shia's butchered as Sunnis ! Very irresponsible copy and news editing, Express Tribune !!!!!
Will India also give visa to Shias? Please...
Dear CJP sou moto maybe
Only religion in the world which claims on daily basis that Islam is a Religion of peace. Now please prove it ........and don't blame others for your own acts.
Horrid and unacceptable, Pakistan must stop the mullahs - may the departed souls rest in peace and may Allah give their families strength The only way forward for Pakistan is Love for all and Hatred for None
If I ever become a President of Pakistan, I will reverse all the Policies of President Zia. Creation of Bengladesh harmed us less than this loss by the state's policies of 80's.
How many more lives have to be wasted before something is done. Why are all the so called cleric of Islam silent on these killings? Is there anyone in this God foresaken country who can stand up for Mazlooms of this country? It seems like independence of Pakistan was only for the Zalims. Minorities are threaten, kidnaped, and killed in the open day light politions busy with blam game, law and order busy protecting the rich of the country and there is not a single so called Muslim Scalor who can raise his voice against the injustice against minorites. Religion of Islam which was suppose to be the blessing of Allah for the mankind these psychotic mullahs have turned it into a curse for mankind. Most peaceful and tolerant religion of Islam, from their mouth sounds like the most intolerante and hateful religion of the world. Kill Shia, kill Ahmadi, terrorise Hindus and christians but worry not Jiska koi nahi, uska toh khuda hota hai. If the ppl of Pakistan don't standup agianst this psychotic minorities injustice and Zulam they are equally responsible.... than its only a matter of time before be-awaaz Lathee of Allah does its job...
@Nahi Maanta... because the people killed were not "people" - they are "Shia People". I mean, the attackers didn't kill people at random. They picked out Shias and killed them.. so the title you are reading
Anyone who believes on One God and Prophet Muhammad PBUH is his last Prophet is Muslim. We all came into this world as Humans, than religion and identity. May Allah destroy these people killing everyone in the name of God.
Sunnis should leav pakistan and migrate to Saudi Arabia
45 million Pakistani Shia can not migrate to Iran, the Evil which is sponsored by desert Snakes needs to be tackled.
@hussain What differnce it makes?. Still sad for the 20 people who cannot make for Eid.
i totally agree with Atheist,,.. why we not condemn this as humanity we look everything through the glass of faith, and religious perspective which destroy humanity on earth .. please out frm this viscosity of religion and create brotherhood on the basis of humanity ..
ET did not include my prior comment. May I ask "HONOURABLE CJ" to kindly take suomouto action and file a case in this context... But I know he will not, DUAL POLICIES
This is another sad incident along with so many happening in our homeland. Just a question for all and the people who report this news.
Why not we say muslims were killed by these gunmen? Why the emphasis is so much on shia.....why we differentiate all that? We can't change any thing until we came out of this.
The gunmen were in the military uniforms...
By looking at the number incidents, no arrest and the bold behavior of the terrorists, I firmly believe that the terrorists have access to not just the military uniforms but a lot more in our armed forces.
I am from India , its really a sad news. I hope you guys can live in peace and also let other live in peace.Enough of bloodshed and playing double games.
How did the AFP Reporter, "Mansehra administration chief Khalid Omarzai", or "local police official Shafiq Gul" find out very quickly that all "20" dead Pakistanis were "Shias", and not "Sunnis", Muslims, or Non-Muslims?
Wake up people.
This is not sectarian killing, it's Shia genocide. It would have been sectarian killings if there were Sunnis being killed in the same manner by Shia terrorists.
@ Awans
Do you really believe Pakistan can ever be a republic only?
The moment one says this, educated Pakistanis in particular converge to label one a traitor. Surprisingly, many of them who say this are themselves living in secular countries.
The point is it is impossible.
Muslim killing Muslim. Demise of two nation theory.
Tell us when are you going to launch wazirastan like operation i Chilas - otherwise enough is enough.
Oh! More purification under process......
The day is not far off when all Shia muslims of Pakistan will be on the Wagah border !!
@Nahi Maanta: Why are u afraid to face the truth?????????then we should then also report the same way about rohiya Muslims.........hypocraite
going by this we will loose our diversity.................hindus and sikhs already gone..........ahmedis going to UK slowly...............hazaras going to Australia................
Mind u diversity is beautiful............a garden cannot be beautiful with only one flower..............
Please i request everyone not to blame this on foreign hand.............we must admit that there is something faulty within us.............Admitting wrong is 1st step in solving it...........
In morning you were reporting Sunnis and now saying Shias why you are mentioning the sect. they were innocent humans it is not enough
@ It Is (still) Economy Stupid,
No, it won't. By 2047, they would declare Ismailis non-Muslims, then Shias, then Sunni Barelvis. The new entity will be called Deobandistan or Talibanistan.
Hindus and Sikhs are migrating to India, now Shias and Ahmadis will migrate to Iran and Pakistan will become 100% Sunni Republic.
@A Human: Could you please tell the reason why 'some' human beings were shot dead and 'some' were spared?
Chief Justice will take the Suo moto , all Govt heads will condem it and that't it. This state is Madrasa state. We are living in the same Arab barbaric time (may be worse than that) before Hadhrat Muhammad PBUH, who came here to make them Human and Human being was reach on the heighest reach on HIS time but now in Pakistan they gradually went back. Happy Independece day, Happy Ramdhan and Happy Lailatul Qadar(if these people call themself muslim which they arent then they must read the Quran where stated that in that holy month fight is forbidden). Now these people will attend the Durood Mahfil will cry there and everybody will say, how pious they are.
Ok now that we have killed shias, lets cry over 'muslims' being slaughtered in Burma... I dare the Turkish president's wife to come and cry for this massacre too..
P.s. I am sunni!
strong textMuslims Killing Muslims!
Where does it say in the Koran that it is ok to do so?
Why is it that those bigoted politicians, Mullahs and their supporters will not condemn such atrocities? I guess they speak up and arouse public anger only when a drone mistakenly kills innocent Muslims.
@syra: You can double-click on the title on facebook before posting and change it.
I ask my shia brothers to take help from other shias, minorities ,india and iran. We cannot keep quite forever.
dear fellows
mentioning of sect is important to make every one realize about a brutal fact and that is there is no sectarian violence in Pakistan between shias and sunnis but a massacre of shia muslims by the extremist faction of sunnis. So our sunni brothers should realize that there are elements in their community who are doing this heinous crime. Can any one quote the same or proportional number of sunni killings in Pakistan, no you can not because there is no killing of sunnis on this scale by shias they were all killed by TTP SSP LeJ etc.
So don't term this massacre sectarian violence, when the shia sect is not engaged in killing of sunnis.
brutal and inhuman act of terrorism.
who so ever they were, at least they were humans. Killing the innocent is one of the strongly disliked and fierce acts in Islam. How the killers call themselves Muslims?
May their souls rest in peace and heaven.
This is going to be the game played by international powers in Pakistan.
May Allah give us hidaya. aameen
@It Is (still) Economy Stupid: The amount of killings taking place daily would make it Kabristan.
@A Human: yes, random humans were pulled out of buses, a completely random process by random killers. Time to open your eyes and wake up, ignorance is fueling the fire of genocide against the Shias and god help Pakistan if they decide to hit back.
Everyone here who is claiming they were neither shia or sunni, they were humans. I beg to differ. They were all Shias and they were killed because they were all Shias. I also want to point out clearly that It was Sunnis who killed them. Unfortunately this is not the first time that has happened in Pakistan. I just read according to the Pew Survey 50% of sunnis in Pakistan consider Shias to be kaafir. Did Prophet Mohammad (pbuh&p) treated Kafirs like this in His time? Is this how his followers follow His Sunnah? Fear Allah everyone and speak the truth even if it hurts
Hello Shaikh Rasheed and Imran Khan do u still call mullah omar ur true ameer-ul-momineen ,if yes then feeling sorry for you . its hight time for shias to leave pakistan and go to some safer place
Abdullah, you are insulting all the innocent victims. Extremists are only on one side. Fear Allah and speak the truth only.
shame and and disgust ,,some human are worse than animals
Bloggy, what a tragedy of the highest order...We should be shedding tears when Muslims are killed, not shias or sunnis. Now, who would kill Muslims? Clearly, Americans are getting desperate and Israel is looking for an excuse to imlpicate Iran in something or the other.
@A Human: It is important to state the fact that they were shia or sunni. If they were killed for just being human beings, then your label HUMAN BEINGS would have been enough, but sadly facts of the matter are otherwise.
@Ali: Couldn't agree more with you Ali. To call these barbarians sunni is a disgrace to Ahle-sunnat. We should kick them out of our fold as in the long run they are not going to spare anyone.
I doubt if this is a war between Shias and Sunnis. It is only a war of Militant Deobandis against Shias. Have we heard of a similar Shia terrorism in last few years? I haven't.
What did Shia leader Mr Jinnah do, when Hindus were killed under similar circumstances reducing them from 20% of population to 1-2% ? Hindus and Sikhs made a grater percentage of population of W Pkaitsan, than Shias do today. What was done to Hindus , can now happen to Shias and that would be an irony for Shia Jinnah, whi did nothing to stop the genocide of Hindus in Pakistan.
Does it matter if it were Sunni, Shias,Hindus or whatever It Wrong period
How about writing "20 people killed by terrorists" ? @Nahi Maanta: That's because this wasn't your classic 'terrorist' attack. It was sectarian killing.
Very sad. The confrontation of SC with the political government has paralysed the government administrative machinery. Though this sad incident cannot be directly attributed to confrontation of SC yet finger can be pointed to the confrontation perpetuated by Justice Iftikhar.
@Nahi Maanta: because they were sorted. If it was indescriminate then you could possibly call people. Just like it would have been injustice to call killing in burma as just people. What are you trying to hide from anyway? If you don't raise your voice for justice then they are going to come after you as well, infact they have already started that. These killers are not humans let alone muslims or sunni.
Rehman Malik: Ban double savari in the area, ban shia website and youtube. And also blame it on external hand and call it a conspiracy against pakistan.
That seems to solve the problem everytime.
shame on these thugs who have committed a crime agaist humanity. no mercy but eliminating them is the only solution. no cases, no courts, only 'disappearance'of these thugs is the only answer.
This would not have happened if Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Gilgit/Baltistan remained a part of India.
@Arafat: what difference does it make? Seem no human right exist in Pakistan.
"Islamic" Republic of Pakistan, zindabad. This is inevitable now.
as neither government nor security forces are intrested in safe guarding the minorities after hindus now its time for shias (who are not considered muslim by the hardcore wahabi terrorists groups such as LEJ and SSP) to migrate to safer place where they would not get targetted like this. they better seek refugee in either iran or in iraq. leave pakistan for the likes of taliban and lets see who is next after the shia evacutation from pakistan
Agreed to call them Muslims Only No SHIA No SUNNI, but would you all agree the killers were not Muslims and TTP is a Non-Muslim Terrorist Organisation?
Shias cannot fight these "Innocents." Like Hindus who moved to India,, they should move to Iran.
This is genocide!
@It Is (still) Economy Stupid:
Year 2060: The name of this country change to Wahibistan. Year 2080: The country ceases to exist.
@Ali Madad: @The Blogy Civilian: @Nahi Maanta:
When the people are killed in the name of religion, by the Wahabi sect which claims to belong to the Sunni school of thought, and justifies the genocide of Shias as part of their beliefs, and it handpicks only the Shias from a crowd to execute them, then this must be reported. You can't fix a problem without realizing.
These criminals and scourge of God must be eliminated. Unfortunately, their breeding grounds as well as the judges are ruled by their sympathizers.
People who are blaming ET here for mentioning word 'Shia' rather than Human beings need to know that these people are being killed for a reason. What if I say why to say 'Burmese Muslims' are being killed why dont you say humans are being killed in Burma??? I hope you all get the point . The important issue here is that this is shia genocide which needs to be highlighted and I must praise ET for mentioning the truth the way it needs to be!!!
Surprised to see people getting confused between sunnis or shias. They were HUMAN BEINGS for God sake..
Press release UN: Effective August 14th 2047 name of a country called Pakistan will be changed to Sunnistan.
@HoneyBee - it does matter what their faith was. It was solely because of that they were killed. Till we do not eradicate the menace the of religious extremism and become secular, this would continue. Many more innocent, people we know, close to us would continue to die today, tomorrow and going forward.
Please update the link as well. Its still showing sunnis http://tribune.com.pk/story/422907/sectarian-attack-16-sunnis-gunned-down-near-gilgit/
This is sad and should be highly condemned!!! :(
The readers have got it wrong. They are focussed on whether the victims were sunnis or shias. The important thing is that many such senseless massacres have taken place, but the government has failed so far to stop their recurrence. They have failed completely in all fields, including providing security to the common citizen. Yet they think they have a right to another term! Senseless killings, on whatever ground, sectarian or ethnic or political, are simply not accepptable. Another issue is whether the law enforcing agencies have succeeded in apprehending and punishing the perpetrators of past such massacres. Zardari and Rehman Malik must wake up from their stupor. It is also incumbent on the common people, whether shia or sunni, to stand up and prevent such things happening. One thing, however, should be clear; this is not an equal fight. The vast majority of the people are sunni and the sunnis need to shouilder the responsibility to maintain peace to a greater extent. Shia being in the minority are being killed, alongwith other minorities, just because of their sect/religion. This answers the question of those who object to the mention of the victims' sect as shias!
@The Blogy Civilian,
Why don't you tell that to Sunnis who are subjecting Shia's to a slow genocide in Pakistan?
The article has been corrected to indicate shias were gunned down but the web link still says Sunnis. Therefore when the article is posted on facebook etc it is posted as 16 sunnis gunned down.
this is the beginning of civil war and truly Pakistan is at the brink as said by Ahmed Rashid in his latest book
Dedi Das ??? It should be Gitidas
It is not extremism on both ends as some would like to call it. It is one sided extremism. Killing of shias!!!
you should find out if the mistake was an innocent mistake or was it an intentional move to either to hide or stir something mischievious
@Awans: How true your comments are and I fully endorse what Iltaf Hussain said. The only way to save Pakistan to make it Republic of Pakistan.
it is important to note that they were shias.
because some people confuse this shia genocide with sunni-shia or tit-for-tat violence. it is not. it is one sided and focused entirely on shias.
My God !! Please help our country .
Well, we must NOT forget that international malicious eyes are on this region so the evil forces are in action here. We must NOT blame Pakistan, Sunni or Shia for any of this. We must all stand united. Pakistan is our home and we must love it and the people living in it.
regards
NAVEED HUNZAI
The act is barbaric and should be condemned. Pakistan was not created to kill Pakistani's and fellow Muslims just because they belong to a sect other than theirs. Pakistan was created for the Muslims of the sub-continent where we could preach and worship but today its the other way around Pakistan is becoming amoung the worst counties where no one is allowed to worship weather it be Muslims, Hindu, Christians or who so ever no one is safe here anymore the lives and property all is on stake. I remember Mr. Altaf Hussain the MQM leader was the one who preached to his followers tolerance which bore excellent results in Karachi and we all saw end of sectarianism from Karachi.
So here we go.pakistan always complains about human right voilation in J&k but what is happening in pok.Atleast india is successful in maintaining the identity of kashmiris.Looking at gilgit baltistan( which is integral part of india constitutionally ,five seats in parliament r reserved for GB) it seems that they want to cleanse Shia majority.That is the reason ,india will never give J&K to religious fundamentalist group.But we can do nothing as they always preferred pak over india.
Meanwhile we learn that in the latest PEW survey about half of the pakistanis surveyed do not consider shias to be muslims/proper muslims. (Interestingly only 20% in war ravaged Afghanistan have the same opinion). With such views being common, why are we surprised at this barbarism in our midst? dont we assert that the country was made for muslims? so as we keep defining and re-defining our muslimhood to suit the salafi/saudi doctrines, the lesser space and security there remains for the banished ones. Hindus, christians, ahmadis and now Shias, welcome to the club.
shia muslims were killed not sunnis,your news resources are incorrect.
I have no words to describe my anger on this senseless killing of innocent people (shia or sunni, does not matter). My prayers are for the victims and their families.. May Allah grant Pakisatanis the wisdom and religious tolerance,.,,
All the systems of keeping law and order have been ravaged .politics and complacency in Civ Administration and Intelligence Agencies has taken our attention away from our basic responsibilities. Whatever is done cannot be undone but it would certainly matter what is the fate inquiries in this regard and what measures are em-placed to avert these incidents in future. Simply a great tragedy
your regret is not required because it doesnt make any difference whether they were Shia or Sunni the mian thing is they are human being. I think the land where least muslims are living is Pakistan........
Not much of a difference between such people and those who attach the airbase. Both are extremist, and are enemy of Pakistan and Islam. Do not complain in case we see reaction....
Sad to see the type of people/ human beings that live in a country called Pakistan....Killers...
shias or sunnis both read the same holy book or different ? .If same then killing another is it religious or the motivation to kill is something else?
salam
it isn't sunnis most reports say it is shias
They were neither sunnis nor shias ,they were human beings--plain, innocent human beings.
BTW, Naran is not 'near' Gilgit. Naran is a Punjabi-speaking area of Hazara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
sunnis or shias what's wrong with you peoples!!! are they not human beings????
Shias claiming those who died were Shia and Sunni claiming those were Sunni. I beg to differ, they were human. Extremism on both end, sigh
Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims dont kill muslims
and here we go again .. sunni shia riots.
they are shias we strongly about this attack
@Yasir Mehmood: its fake news they were not Sunnis, they belong to shia school of thought
They were all Shias. The news is wrong.
The modus operandi is known Taliban tactic. They are paid to start sectarian massacres.
few months back same technique were used by killing up-to 18 shias..
Wrong information by ET?
All other news, including shiakilling website is saying that the passengers killed were all SHIA
Such a wonderful show of respect for Ramadan and Humanity in the last few days from our pious 'muslim' brothers. I salute the two faced bigotry of our clerics who would raise their voices against Burmese infidelity but have so far just turned away from the acts of their own produce.
Really sad. It might be a plot to fan sectarian violence in the region again.
it is 100 percent Sunni dominated area where the incident took place. how Sunnis have been killed. Reconfirm the news..
Plz Correct Ur Information They All Shias. Chilas: A Bus Traveling 4rm RWP 2 Astore Has Been Targeted With Heavy Firing By SSP. Fatalities May Be Recorded. The Incident Took Babusar. 21 Shia Muslim Martyred
i was just praising the joint effort of four party ulemas to bring peace to the region. no more peace in gb or in pakistan i guess.
SUnnis gunned down. well this is new? so is it both ways now. did this rather large mess just get more complicated?
Correct the facts. They were all shia
Sunni? Please check again as we hae reports that they were shias!!!