The victims.
The intermittent killings of the Pakistani Hazaras have resumed in south-western city of Quetta where two innocent people have become the latest victims of targeted killing on Sariab Road. According to latest news coming from the capital of Balochistan, the two unfortunate Hazaras were travelling from Quetta to Karachi on an inbound passenger coach when the coach was stopped on Sariab Road by armed terrorists. The Hazaras were dragged off the vehicle and killed with automatic guns.
“The terrorists must have been informed of the victims’ arrival because they were particularly looking for the Hazaras and when they found them, they killed the hapless people in front of others“, said Ghulam Khan who was also at the scene at the time of incident.
The bullet-riddled bodies have been shifted to the Cantonment Military Hospital (CMH) where people are gathering in large numbers. The victims have been identified as Muhammad Nabi and Juma Khan whose bodies are being transported to Hazara Town for burial.
No one has yet claimed the responsibility of the attack but the execution-style killing reveals that the banned Lashker-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) is behind this heinous crime.
However, Jash-e-Islam (JeI), another banned extremist outfit has accepted the responsibility of today’s attack through a telephone call to the media. JeI also warned the general public and transporters to desist from maintaining relationship with the Hazaras lest they will be responsible for any loss. JeI reiterated its stance to continue such actions till complete imposition of Caliphate system in the country.
It is of particular importance to mention that the LeJ, banned in 2002, resurfaced with another name, Ahl-e-Sunnat wa Al Jama’at (ASWJ), which has been functioning with full impunity throughout Pakistan. However, the main focus of killing innocent people in the guise of religion and race has been Quetta city with its training camps in Baloch-dominated areas such as Sariab Road and Mastung and their adjacent areas.
So far, the Pakistani Hazaras have faced the brunt of such attacks. Over 1600 innocent Hazaras have lost their lives while over 4000 people have become completely paralysed due to these attacks. The LeJ, its leaders and patrons roam about freely in Quetta while the federal and provincial governments have never taken serious steps to apprehend the terrorists behinds these killings.