Quetta: At least two people from Hazara community were killed and three others injured after unidentified assailants opened fire on them in Quetta city of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, local media reported.
Senior police officer Muhammad Khair Sumalani stated that the men were attacked on Sunday while there were heading back to Hazara Town from the Hazarganji vegetable market, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
“Unidentified armed men riding motorcycles opened fire at their vehicle, killing two people on the spot and injuring three,” Sumalani was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The senior police official stated that the incident seemed to be a case of “targetted killing”, adding that the law enforcement personnel rushed to the site following the incident.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Police has initiated a search operation to find the assailants.
People from the Hazara community blocked the Western Bypass in protest against the killing.
Similar incidents have happened in the Hazargangi area in the past, where vegetable sellers came under attack.
At least 20 people were killed and 48 others injured in a blast believed to be targetting members of the Hazara community in Hazarganji market of Quetta in 2019, Dawn reported.
A report released by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in 2018 revealed that 509 members of the Hazara community were killed and 627 were injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta from January 2012 to Dec 2017.
Last month, a report detailed that Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in Sunni radicalisation across the country under the leadership of Army Chief Asim Munir, resulting in escalating violence against religious minorities like Ahmadis and Shias without recourse to justice.
“Pakistan’s two largest Muslim minorities, the Shia (notably Hazara Shia) and Ahmadis, have endured an unprecedented surge of violence and lynchings in the last couple of years. In November 2024 alone, over 40 Shia pilgrims were slaughtered in a single convoy ambush in Kurram District. Across Punjab and Sindh, mobs of hardline extremists have stormed Ahmadi prayer halls and beaten worshippers to death,” a report in the Afghan Diaspora Network mentioned.
“Human rights monitors warn that this is not a random crime but a full-fledged sectarian onslaught. Earlier this month, the Islamic State of Pakistan conducted a suicide attack on a famous Shia Mosque in capital Islamabad, which resulted in 32 casualties. The core cadre base of IS-Pakistan comes from anti-Shia Sunni outfits like outlawed Sipaha-e-Sahaba(SSP) and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ), among others,” it added.
Citing analysts, the report suggested that these radical Sunni outfits were likely responsible for the attack, with their activities becoming more visible lately. Notably, a big gathering of the LeJ was reportedly underway near the Shia Mosque, which was attacked on February 6.
Amnesty International highlighted that Pakistani “authorities have failed to protect the Hazara Shia community” from repeated threats and attacks.
(IANS)
