Tag: Shia killings

  • Ashura to be observed on August 9

    Ashura to be observed on August 9

    The Muharram crescent was not sighted yesterday (29 July). The first of Muharram will fall on Sunday (July 31). Youm-e-Ashur will be observed on August 9 (Tuesday), the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced on Friday.

    The meeting for the sighting of the moon was presided over by committee chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad.

    The statement released by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony on July 29 says: “In pursuance of the decision of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, in its meeting held today at Quetta, the federal government in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony hereby announce that the moon of the Muharram-ul-Haram 1444 AH has not sighted, therefore the 1st Muharram-ul-Haram shall commence from Sunday (July 31).”

     The Punjab government has imposed Section 144 in the province to maintain law and order during the first 10 days of Muharram.

  • Hazaras face yet another tragedy

    Hazaras face yet another tragedy

    Imagine the pain of those families who not just lost their loved ones to a gruesome terrorist attack but also kept waiting for the state to show empathy towards them.

    11 Hazara coal miners were target killed in Balochistan last week. Their families staged a protest in the freezing cold of Quetta for a week and said they would not bury their dead till they meet Prime Minister Imran Khan. But the PM asked them to bury their dead first. He said he wouldn’t be ‘blackmailed’.

    At last, the Hazara mourners had to bury their dead and only then did PM Imran visit Quetta to meet them. No words can make us imagine the pain of the mourners. And to even think that they could blackmail anyone — those who are a marginalised community, those who have been relegated to a designated area, those who cannot even roam their area freely, those who cannot even get justice for their dead. There are Hazara families that have no male members left as they have all been target-killed.

    In a 2014 report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Hazara Shias were described as ‘The Walking Dead’. They have continued to suffer at the hands of sectarian terrorist outfits committing genocide of the Hazara community. Thus the state should not have shown apathy towards their demand of meeting the PM. A powerful state cannot put conditions on its marginalised and beleaguered people. It is callous. Period.

    It is also important that the state safeguards the lives of all citizens, especially a marginalised community like the Hazaras. Pakistan made a lot of gains in its fights against terrorism in the last few years. The government should have consolidated those gains and made a proper strategy to counter terrorism and extremism.

    It is also important to empower the local police in Balochistan just like it was done in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We hope that the Hazaras will get justice as well as protection. They have suffered enough.

  • Hazaras agree to call off protests, bury bodies after PM, COAS promise to visit families

    Hazaras agree to call off protests, bury bodies after PM, COAS promise to visit families

    The week-long protests across Pakistan, especially Quetta, in the wake of the killing of Hazara coal miners in Mach have been called off following the successful negotiations between the government and families of the slain miners.

    Federal Minister Ali Zaidi and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri said that the government has agreed to accept the demands of the protesters and the army chief and the prime minister will visit the families of the victims after the last rites.

    Geo reported the leader of the Shuhada Action Committee Agha Raza as saying: the protests had been organised for the sake of the heirs of the deceased and were now being called off with their consent. Subsequently, the protesters in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad also started disbanding late in the night.

    On Friday, PM Imran Khan had drawn flak for saying the Hazara protesters were “blackmailing” him. According to the PM, the government has accepted all demands of the protesters, but their demand that they will not bury their dead unless the prime minister visits them is akin to blackmail.

    Balochistan’s Shia Hazara community had been protesting for the past six days in the freezing temperature of Quetta, refusing to bury their dead, in the wake of the murder of 11 miners in Mach, Bolan. On Sunday, 11 miners were kidnapped from their compound and killed by the armed men.

    The attack was claimed by the Islamic State. The protesters had demanded that the PM visit them personally and give them security assurances or they would not end their protest.

  • Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    After Afghanistan asked Pakistan to return the bodies of the Afghan citizens who were killed in an attack on Hazara coal miners in Mach, Balochistan, Chief Minister Jamal Kamal has asked people to cooperate.

    In a letter to the Foreign Ministry’s Camp Office in Quetta dated Jan 5, the Consulate General said: “As you know, in the terrorist incident that took place in Mach area of Bolan district of Balochistan province by the anti-governments and joint terrorists of the two countries, seven Afghan citizens are among the victims.”

    It said that the heirs of “three martyrs have requested that their dead bodies be transferred to Afghanistan”. “Therefore, your esteemed office is kindly requested to contact the relevant authorities to grant permission for transferring the mentioned three corpses via the Chaman-Spin Boldak Corridor.”

    In a tweet, CM Kamal wrote: “Afghanistan Government has asked Govt of Pakistan to hand over bodies of their three Hazara Community citizens whose heirs have requested Govt of Afghanistan. Therefore, we request the people to cooperate with us in this matter as requested.”

    11 coal miners, who belonged to the Hazara community, were killed by the terrorists in a sectarian attack in Mach, Balochistan, last week.

    The families of the slain miners are protesting for the past five days against the killings on Quetta’s Western Bypass. They have refused to bury their dead till the in person security assurances from the prime minister. But the PM has refused to visit, saying he will come to condole with them very soon.

  • PM says ‘neighbour instigating sectarian terrorism’, asks Hazara victim families to bury loved ones

    PM says ‘neighbour instigating sectarian terrorism’, asks Hazara victim families to bury loved ones

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said asked Hazara victim families to bury their loved ones who were killed in a terrorist attack on Sunday by the Islamic State, aka Daesh.

    His tweet came in response to the demand of the Hazara protesters who asked the PM to visit their protest camp and assure them of security. The protesters have said that they will not bury their dead unless the PM listens to them in person.

    The PM, however, says that his government is taking “steps to prevent such brutal attacks” that are being instigated by the country’s “neighbour to instigate sectarian terrorism”.

    “I want to reassure the Hazara families who lost their loved ones in a brutal terrorist attack in Machh that I am cognisant of their suffering & their demands. We are taking steps to prevent such attacks in the future & know our neighbour is instigating this sectarian terrorism,” he tweeted.

    The PM also promised the Hazara community that he would visit them “very soon to offer prayers and condole with all the families personally”.

    “I share your pain & have come to you before also to stand with you in your time of suffering. I will come again very soon to offer prayers and condole with all the families personally. I will never betray my people’s trust. Please bury your loved ones so their souls find peace,” he added.

    At least 11 Hazara miners were shot dead by the Islamic State in Mach, Bolan, on Sunday. After the killings, the mourners have been staging a sit-in in Quetta for the past four days.