Hazara massacre: ‘Protests to continue until all bodies are buried’
Severe travel disruptions due to sit-ins; scuffles at the airport.
Protesters place blockades on rail tracks at Imamia Colony. PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/SHAFIQ MALIK/EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Protestors at the sit-in in front of the Governor’s House on Tuesday continued to demand action against those responsible for the killing of Hazaras in Quetta.
The sit-in was joined by people who kept arriving in groups. Demonstrations were held at Imamia Colony, in front of Lahore Press Club, at Chungi Amer Sidhu and at Defence.
Metro Bus Service remained suspended on Tuesday. At Allama Iqbal International Airport scuffles between the protestors and passengers were reported.
Operations SP Cantonment division Maroof Safdar Wahla told The Express Tribune that the police were negotiating with the protestors. He said after the sit-in in Quetta was called off, the police were waiting for the protesters in Lahore to disperse peacefully.
Punjab Metro Bus Service Authority General Manager Uzair Shah said that due to the protest demonstration at Chungi, the bus service couldn’t resume on Tuesday. He said that MBS would resume its service on Wednesday.
Nearly 40 protestors staged a sit-in at the main boulevard of the Defence Housing Authority against the killings in Quetta.
They sat outside the commercial area holding placards and demanding justice and immediate action against the terrorists.
Despite the call by Majlis-i-Wehdat-i-Muslameen (MWM) central leadership to end the sit-in, the protest continued in the city. Protest leaders said they had decided to continue their demonstration until all bodies had been buried.
Civil Lines SP Dr Farrukh Raza told The Express Tribune that more than 100 police officials were deployed to protest the protesters.
Former Supreme Court Bar Association president and Prof Asma Jahangir too addressed the sit-in on the Mall. Students of several universities also mounted a vigil.
Qamar Abbas, one of the protestors at the Governor’s House demanded that the government ensure safety of Hazara community. He said that control of Balochistan should be handed over to army.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2013.
Protestors at the sit-in in front of the Governor’s House on Tuesday continued to demand action against those responsible for the killing of Hazaras in Quetta.
The sit-in was joined by people who kept arriving in groups. Demonstrations were held at Imamia Colony, in front of Lahore Press Club, at Chungi Amer Sidhu and at Defence.
Metro Bus Service remained suspended on Tuesday. At Allama Iqbal International Airport scuffles between the protestors and passengers were reported.
Operations SP Cantonment division Maroof Safdar Wahla told The Express Tribune that the police were negotiating with the protestors. He said after the sit-in in Quetta was called off, the police were waiting for the protesters in Lahore to disperse peacefully.
Punjab Metro Bus Service Authority General Manager Uzair Shah said that due to the protest demonstration at Chungi, the bus service couldn’t resume on Tuesday. He said that MBS would resume its service on Wednesday.
Nearly 40 protestors staged a sit-in at the main boulevard of the Defence Housing Authority against the killings in Quetta.
They sat outside the commercial area holding placards and demanding justice and immediate action against the terrorists.
Despite the call by Majlis-i-Wehdat-i-Muslameen (MWM) central leadership to end the sit-in, the protest continued in the city. Protest leaders said they had decided to continue their demonstration until all bodies had been buried.
Civil Lines SP Dr Farrukh Raza told The Express Tribune that more than 100 police officials were deployed to protest the protesters.
Former Supreme Court Bar Association president and Prof Asma Jahangir too addressed the sit-in on the Mall. Students of several universities also mounted a vigil.
Qamar Abbas, one of the protestors at the Governor’s House demanded that the government ensure safety of Hazara community. He said that control of Balochistan should be handed over to army.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2013.