Indian religious scholar strongly condemns Shia killings in Pakistan

Maulana Syed Jalal Haider Naqvi, President, Shaheed Mottahhari Society in Delhi said: “I am appalled by the continued violence targeting religious minorities in Pakistan”. “Shia Muslims, including women and children had been targeted in different parts of Pakistan in recent months and it seems there is no end of these mindless violence,” he said expressing disappointment over the killings. Expressing solidarity with the families of the victims, Jalal, who is also the Joint Secretary of the Majlis Ulema-e-Hind, asked the Pakistan Government: “How long these Shias of Pakistan have to suffer?” He went on to say and urged the Government to take stern action against these acts of violence. He also urged that the perpetrators should be brought to justice immediately. The bombing tore through the crowded vegetable market in the town of Hazara, on the outskirts of Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province, on Saturday. The area is mostly inhabited by Shia Muslims. The bomb, containing nearly a tone of explosives, was hidden in a water tank and towed into the market by a tractor, Quetta police chief Zubair Mahmood told reporters. Reports say that some 84 people were killed in the attack and about 200 others were injured. Meanwhile, many businesses in Quetta went on strike to condemn Saturday’s deadly bombing. The governor of Balochistan also criticized Pakistani security officials for failing to protect Shias. Violence has been on the rise against Shia Muslims in different parts of the country in recent months. On January 10, nearly 130 people were killed and many others injured in a wave of deadly bomb attacks targeting both Pakistani security guards and civilians in Quetta. Shias make up around 20 percent of Pakistanˈs 190 million population. They are scattered around the country.