‘Rallies slam Shia killings in Pakistan’

Pakistanis have reportedly staged protest rallies in several cities across the country to condemn the recent bomb attack that targeted Shia Muslims in the southwestern city of Quetta.

According to local media reports, the demonstrations were held in the cities of Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Hyderabad, Multan, Muzaffarabad, and several other cities and towns in the Asian country.

The protesters called on the Pakistani government to provide security for the nation’s Shia Muslims.

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.

The attack triggered protests in condemnation of violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Protesters said the Pakistani government had failed to take proper action to prevent terror attacks on the Shia Muslim community.

Shias make up 20 percent of the country’s 180-million-strong population.

Since the beginning of 2012, hundreds of Shias have been killed in Pakistan. The attacks have targeted many doctors, engineers, high-ranking government officials, teachers, and politicians.

MR/HN