People shout slogans in Lahore as they protest against bomb attack in Quetta. PHOTO AFP
The entire nation, from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Sindh, felt the pain of the aggrieved Hazara community on Sunday as rallies were staged to denounce the deadly blast at Hazara Town.
About 400 protesters gathered at Islamabad’s D-Chowk to express solidarity with the Hazara community. They demanded the government stamp out extremism from the country.
Members of civil society, Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) and people from different walks of life attended the protest. “If the security forces cannot protect its citizens, then we don’t need them anymore,” said rights campaigner Farzana Bari.
Holding placards and banners, protesters shouted “Stop Hazara genocide” and “We Need Protection”.
“The blast-hit area had only two points of entry and vehicles have to pass through pickets from either point … despite this, a vehicle rigged with 1,000 kilogrammes of explosives drove into the busy market,” said Naimat, a college student.
Sajjad Hussain Changezi, an engineering student, said that frequent bans on cellular services are cosmetic measures which cannot eliminate terrorism from the country. He added that a comprehensive strategy was needed to deal with this menace.
In Lahore, around 1,000 members of the Shia community staged a sit-in in front of the Governor House and demanded that Quetta be handed over to the military. Protesters also demanded a crackdown against Lashker-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) sanctuaries in Punjab. They resolved to continue the sit-in till their demands were met.
In Karachi, Shia community members continued protests and rallies for a second consecutive day, which were also marred by violence in certain neighbourhoods.
At least one man was shot dead and two others were injured during an exchange of fire between protesters and shopkeepers in the Saddar area.
According to DSP Zameer Abbasi, the incident took place when unidentified persons opened fire on a protest rally that was returning from the Karachi Press Club. In response, some protesters returned indiscriminate fire, hitting several nearby shops. Upon this, some shopkeepers snatched a firearm from a police constable and returned fire at the protesters.
At least three vehicles were also set on fire by protesters in Karachi, while at other places in the city, protesters pelted passing vehicles with stones.
Addressing a protest rally outside Karachi Press Club, MWM’s Karachi chapter general secretary Maulana Sadiq Raza Taqvi claimed that the elements opposed to governor’s rule in Balochistan might have masterminded Saturday’s blast.
The Jafaria Alliance Pakistan warned it would approach the United Nations and other international organisations if terrorism continued in Pakistan, especially in Quetta and Karachi.
The Shia community in Karachi also gave the call for a strike on Monday across Sindh. The call has been supported by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, along with the city’s business community, schools and transport associations. Protests were also observed in other parts of Sindh and Punjab, along with Peshawar and parts of K-P.
(Read: How many more deaths?)
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2013.
COMMENTS (24)
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It is so painful to see the dead bodies with their mourning relatives demanding just one thing "Peace" over and over but its not enough to convey their message to the deaf ears of cruel politicians and security agencies. May God have mercy on us. Life has no value in Pakistan, human death tolls are just numbers by which we judge whether the blast was BIG or small. May God give us courage to save life and human beings in Pakistan regardless of any cast, religion or race.
But Islam stands for "PEACE".
@Kolsat....why blame Islam, Islam has nothing to do with his incident. Islam is a the only religion who teaches love and compassion for others.
When the living become blindly inhuman, the dead start to protest, this time with 100 coffins.
Curse on First till Last terrorists.
hopefully Kashmiris get a clue of what to expect if they want to merge with Pakistan...
For the past few years the FC has effectively ruled Balochistan. It is high time it is brought to account. The first step should be the immediate sacking of the Major General who is the Inspector General of the organisation.
Why do these murderer are labeled muslim. By no defination they are muslim . They should be labels as terrorist and be done with them.
@FJ: because they are the only target,some people from others sect are killed to give it a blanket cover/label it as sectarian killing so that no action taken against the main killer who is only paid for shia genocide(devoid of responsibility) understand the name of the game, now Chinese will be killed.Shia for Iran gas pipeline and and Chinese for Gwadar port.Grow up and try to understands what is going on.USA/UK/KSA/GCC/India are doing this all in Pakistan.
For the past few years the FC has effectively ruled Balochistan. It is high time it is brought to account. The first step should be the immediate sacking of the Major General who is the Inspector General of the organisation. Report Reply
@Babloo: not true dude- no Muslim can kill another Muslim. This was true in 1971, and is true here as well. And that is because I say so
This is a very hopeful sign that Pakistanis in other cities are coming out and protesting. Keep the pressure up folks. Such heartbreaking murders must stop. I pray for your success.
This article along with the comments section reminded me as to how powerful our banned outfits have become. While a market under protection, in a city swarming with intelligence officials, experiences such tragedies, the leaders of the so-called banned outfits (who publicly claim responsibility of such tragedies) enjoy police protection.
those who continue to remain silent are also responsible for it.
@Mustafa: Blame Islam and prejudices of its followers for this atrocity. Islam has lost its way. Its followers put no value on life and sufferrings of others not of their ilk.
Why isn't Imran Khan organizing a Jalsa cum Long March to Quetta in support of the Hazaras? Why single out the Taliban for preferential treatment here?
Are Hazaras killing Pakistani soldiers the way the Taliban does?
We cannot stop Shia killings until we stop hate factories which are spreading hate, terror and extremism day and night. here is my take on the shia killings in quetta. Hate is the reason http://stopextremism.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/hate-is-the-reason/
Recently papers found in Mali show a plan for introduction of strict code of Islam. It said that a chaos in the country will force people to accept such an interpretation of Islam. Is it possible that daily chaos in Pakistan is nothing but standard operating procedure of such a blue print of a sinister plan? Other Muslim countries like Yemen, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Maldives, Nigeria, Sudan etc are facing internal chaos.
Quetta, a Garrison city where each and every street is manned by intelligence operatives. 1000 Kg explosives go undetected, I repeat 1000 Kg. Do the math #ShiaGenocide
Few hundred protestors supporting the Shia Hazaras and millions supporting DPC rallies calling for killing os Shias.. Hundreds of thousands turned up for Afia. Many thousands turned up for Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. Shahrukh Khan was all over in the media discussions with Hafiz Saeed guaranteeing him safety in Pakistan. These represent the true hearts and minds of its population.
Yes a state based on religious identity and politics will collapse in religion inspired bigotry.
what nation? say, only shias of Pakistan feel the pain!
Some one should start a relief funds for the Shia/Hazara. Millions, including me, would be willing to donate for this noble cause.
Only 400 or 1000 truely felt the pain who came out in the open.
Life has no value in Pakistan. They have been desensitized by so much death and destruction.
There were almost 100,000 people in Bangladesh to mourn the death of just one blogger Ahmad Haider yesterday.
There were almost 1,000,000 ( more than one million) on the streets of DHAKA last week to demand death panelty for JI activist who was found guilty for many killing and rapes during the 1971 genocide in East Pakistan.
Has collective conscious also migrated to India during 1947 partition?
Ironic how the founder of Pakistan, M.A. Jinnah was a Shia too. - a Sunni