Damage control: Government promises Shias extra security
Malik says a new strategy has been drafted to thwart attacks.
Rehman Malik. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The government has pledged additional security for the Ahle Tasheeh community which has become a soft target for militants in Balochistan over the last eight months.
The belated assurance came from Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Sunday when he told the president of the Jaffria Alliance Pakistan (JAP) that the government had chalked out a new strategy to curb sectarian violence in the country. Malik did not, however, explain exactly what measures the law enforcement agencies would be undertaking as part of the new strategy to cope with mounting sectarian violence against Shias – who are now considered a vulnerable community in Pakistan.
JAP’s Allama Muhammad Abbas Kumaili called on Malik in Islamabad to discuss their worries, according to a press release. Last year in Balochistan, hundreds of Shias were killed in multiple attacks, which led the federal government to impose governor rule in the province.
Similarly, on January 13, Shia elders belonging to the Hazara ethnicity met the prime minister and informed him about the hardships and attacks which they had been facing.
Kumaili appreciated the efforts to enhance protection that were made by the federal and provincial governments in Muharramul Haram and during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrations throughout the country.
The federal government is providing all possible assistance to the provincial governments to improve the security situation in Karachi and Quetta to cut at the root of sectarian attacks, said Malik in the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2013.
The government has pledged additional security for the Ahle Tasheeh community which has become a soft target for militants in Balochistan over the last eight months.
The belated assurance came from Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Sunday when he told the president of the Jaffria Alliance Pakistan (JAP) that the government had chalked out a new strategy to curb sectarian violence in the country. Malik did not, however, explain exactly what measures the law enforcement agencies would be undertaking as part of the new strategy to cope with mounting sectarian violence against Shias – who are now considered a vulnerable community in Pakistan.
JAP’s Allama Muhammad Abbas Kumaili called on Malik in Islamabad to discuss their worries, according to a press release. Last year in Balochistan, hundreds of Shias were killed in multiple attacks, which led the federal government to impose governor rule in the province.
Similarly, on January 13, Shia elders belonging to the Hazara ethnicity met the prime minister and informed him about the hardships and attacks which they had been facing.
Kumaili appreciated the efforts to enhance protection that were made by the federal and provincial governments in Muharramul Haram and during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrations throughout the country.
The federal government is providing all possible assistance to the provincial governments to improve the security situation in Karachi and Quetta to cut at the root of sectarian attacks, said Malik in the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2013.