Quetta killings: Civil society activists stage protest rally

Demand to arrest culprits, formulation of effective counter-terrorism policy.

ISLAMABAD: Civil society activists staged a protest demonstration in the federal capital to condemn the killings of innocent people including female students of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University in Quetta.

The protesters, holding banners and placards, chanted slogans against the attacks that claimed the lives of 25 people including 14 university students.

Addressing the protesters, Mukhtar Khan, a civil society activist from the South Waziristan Agency, said that they would continue to raise their voices against such brutal and cowardly acts.



“Those responsible for the attacks went against the most basic principles of Islam,” he said and added that the government should bring the culprits to book. He also demanded government to formulate an effective counter-terrorism policy.

Khan maintained that the killings and coordinated attacks on government installations had completely shaken the people’s confidence in the new provincial and federal governments. He added that the government should take tangible steps to restore peace in the country.

Farzana Bari, a prominent civil society activist, said that the government must not abandon the people of Balochistan at this critical juncture and should take steps to isolate the militants who had been killing people with impunity.

She said that Balochistan bleeds every single day but no result-oriented steps were being taken by the government to ensure lasting peace. She requested the government to ensure the protection of every citizen’s fundamental rights, including the right to live.

The protesters also paid tribute to the slain deputy commissioner Abdul Mansoor Kakar, who lost his life in the attack. They also condemned the attack on the Quaid-e-Azam Residency and demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2013.