Four Hazaras gunned down in Quetta

QUETTA: Four members of the Hazara community were gunned down in the scrap market of Quetta on Tuesday, Express News reported.

All those killed ran junk and scrap shops in Kabari Market in Quetta, where sectarian and separatist violence is common.

“It was a sectarian attack. Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on them and drove away,” Asif Ghafoor, a senior police official, told AFP.

The province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is plagued by sectarian violence between the minority Shia and majority Sunni community, as well as by Taliban attacks and a separatist insurgency.

Riasat Ali, another police official confirmed the incident and told AFP that the victims were critically injured and died on their way to hospital.

Sectarian violence involving Sunni and Shias, who account for around 20 percent of the population, has killed thousands of people since the late 1990s.

Sectarian killings have taken a new toll; many extremist groups are taking advantage of the political vacuum created after the ruthless operation.