Shia Muslims demand special parliamentary session on Quetta massacre

Hazara Shia Muslims in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta have called on the government in Islamabad to convene a special session of the parliament to discuss the recent killings of Shias in the city. Quetta-based Shia Hazara Muslims demanded of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to summon the representatives of the country’s intelligence agencies to brief the parliament on “the genocide of Hazaras in Quetta. On February 16, a bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the main bazaar of Quetta killed at least 90 people, including women and children, and injured more 200 others. According to the police, most of the victims were Hazara Shias. On January 10, a twin bomb attack at a crowded billiard hall killed more than 90 people, mostly Hazara Shia Muslims, in Quetta, which is the capital of Balochistan province. The terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the bombings. Hazara Shia Muslims said they buried more than 1,200 people during last few years and the victims of targeted killings and bomb attacks in Quetta included a large number of women and children. They said they always demanded arrest of all those involved in any act of sectarian violence, irrespective of their party affiliation. They demanded Malik Ishaq must be brought to justice and punished for involvement in Shia genocide and terrorism in all over Pakistan. Following the terrorist incidents in Quetta, massive demonstrations were held across Pakistan to denounce the violence against Shia Muslims. The demonstrators shouted slogans against the government and criticized Pakistan’s security forces for failing to provide security to the country’s Shia Muslims. They also denounced the Saudi Arabian policy of funding extremist groups that commit acts of violence against Muslims in Pakistan. In addition, the protesters called on the government to take immediate action against the forces involved in the sectarian killings.