- HRCP condemns targeted killing of minority community
At least four members of the Hazara community were killed and one other was injured in a firing incident by unidentified gunmen at Chothu area near Mastung district on Wednesday.
According to police, the victims were on way to Quetta from Karachi when armed assailants targeted their car and opened fire at them and fled from the scene. As a result, a woman among four victims succumbed to their injuries while one other received wounds.
The bodies and injured were shifted to the Sandeman Hospital in Quetta where the bodies were identified as Murtaza, Muhammad Asif, Ghulam Sarwar and Rukhsan Bibi. Law enforcement agencies reached the site and cordoned off the area and started search to arrest suspects. Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri has strongly condemned the attack and sought a report from the police.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly condemns the incident of wanton violence against the Hazara community in Balochistan and takes serious notice of the government’s failure to curb violence against a minority community and its inability to crackdown on known militant outfits.
The latest targeted killing to occur near Mastung, leading to the death of four persons, is a part of a long series of sectarian-terrorist attacks, disproportionally targeting the Hazara community. More than 1,400 attacks have taken place in the province over the past 15 years. “Despite all claims by the government towards ensuring the protection of Hazaras, the community remains as vulnerable as ever and the perpetrators of violence as free as ever,” it said.
“It is critical that the perpetrators are brought to justice swiftly and all elements responsible for fermenting the conflict confronted,” the statement said. HRCP calls upon all segments of society to unequivocally condemn the latest atrocity. The continued prevalence of violence in parts of the country and the breakdown in law and order were symptomatic of the absence of the government writ in these areas.
HRCP remains dismayed by the fact that the deployment of the law enforcement agencies and direct administrative measures have only led to a further slide in the situation. The continued marginalisation and disenfranchisement of certain segments of the population not only has adverse implications for the country but also tarnishes the nation’s image internationally.
All possible integrative steps need to be taken by the government to assure a sustainable growth path for the country. At this tragic time, HRCP stands in solidarity with the victims’ families and the Hazara community in general, in looking to the government to provide equitable redress and safeguarding the community. HRCP said that all possible steps were taken by the government and all law enforcement agencies in preventing any future attacks, targeting a particular community, on an ethnic and religious basis.