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Pakistani Shia Muslims gather outside a hospital in Quetta on September 20, 2011, following an attack by gunmen on a pilgrim bus. -AFP Photo
QUETTA: Gunmen shot dead 26 Pakistani Shia Muslim pilgrims travelling to Iran on Tuesday, the deadliest attack on the minority community in Pakistan for more than a year, officials said.
In a brutal assault, gunmen ordered pilgrims off their bus, lined them up and assassinated them in a hail of gunfire in Mastung, a district 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Quetta, the capital of the southwest Baluchistan province.
An hour after the first attack, unidentified gunmen killed another three Shias on the outskirts of Quetta whom police said were relatives of victims of the first incident en route to collect their bodies.
“The attackers stopped the bus and forced the pilgrims to get off, lined them up and then opened fire,” local deputy commissioner Saeed Imrani told AFP, referring to the first attack.
“The death toll has risen to 26. At least six people were wounded, four of them are in a critical condition,” he added, after earlier saying 20 died.
Referring to the second incident, Hamid Shakil, a senior police officer in Quetta, told AFP by telephone: “Armed men ambushed their car. Three of them were killed and one was wounded. They were going to take the dead bodies.”
Much of Pakistan, a key US ally in the war on Al-Qaeda and the 10-year fight against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, suffers from near daily militant violence.
Baluchistan has increasingly become a flashpoint for sectarian violence between Pakistan’s majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias.
The attack, confirmed as sectarian in nature by Pakistani officials, was the deadliest on Shias in Pakistan since September 4, 2010 when a suicide bomber killed at least 57 people at a Shia rally in Quetta.
Where is government?
Is there any authority in Balochistan and Quetta?
It keep's happening every week, innocent people are being martyred, who is responsible? did Quaid Azam made Pakistan for this day?. The news channels give more coverage to other useless matter's but they give very little coverage to these sorts of problems which are destroying Pakistan and the Terrorists? where do they escape? they still are in and around Quetta? No operation against them by the Government of Balochistan and Specially Federal Government? when the situation worsened in Karachi, the Interior Minister and all the Federal Cabinet called a meeting but when it's the same matter Quetta and Balochistan, where are those cabinet, Minister's???? is balochistan a jungle? and is there the rule of jungle? Should the peaceful people also take weapons and start killing other innocent people? does the government want this to happen, for God sake wake up Pakistan and its people.
May those matyrs be with the Ahlul-Bayt from the moment they died till Qiyamat, insha'Allah.
My salute to martyrd who lost their lives for Ziarat-e-Imam Raza (a.s).They all are in the shade of Ahlul Bait (a.s)InshAllah.
Nothing could be more brutal and cruel than this when unarmed and innocent people who were en-route to visit their holy sites have been targeted. Such acts of spinelessness and brutality are recurring again and again but there is no credible and genuine action taken against the miscreants of this banned outfit namely "LASHKAR-E-JHANGWI"
They are not unidentified, they are not only among us, they are one of us. Unless the country is not deweaponised, such attacks will continue. Our law enforcement agencies only protect the ruling elite this is why teh country is suffering and will suffer till the people rise to put a hold on everything evil that is plaguing this country.
It is so sad to see Muslims killing Muslims.Who ever did this is not a human nor Muslim.
Each day, if not each hour, we face some tragedy and there is no end to it. Why and how Pakistani human blood has become the cheapest in my beloved country is a baffling unanswered question? Innocent people are being killed continually for different reasons and that too all over Pakistan. Sometimes it is Karachi and the other time it is Lahore while Peshawar and Quetta too do not lag behind. The worst part is that the criminal are either not captured or if they are captured then a lengthy process is adopted to punish them and in most cases they are either released or given less punishments. I opine that if police has 100% solid proof devoid of any prejudices and tampering then the court should punish the accused in public to deter others and unless and until such like drastic punishment is not inflicted, I doubt human life will be safe and secured in Pakistan.
My heart goes out to those who have lost their loved ones! This is sad!! What are our law enforcing agencies doing? this seems a ploy to instigate sectarian violence in Balcuchistan now that Karachi is under control. The police and army have to do more in curbing these "unidentified" militants.
Is there any doubt in anyone's mind who the killers are? I doubt if the police has the courage to catch them; and if they are caught, the judge will be too scared for his and his relative's lives to sentence them. It is amazing how these murderers have taken the entire country hostage. Mr. Zulfiqar Mirza, why are you quite now?
The State's silence on these matters is simply an endorsement of minority genocide.
That's sad to see, Now expect retaliation. These attacks are not results of Pakistan being involved in war of terror but the political deviance that still exist in Pakistan.
What religon these beasts belong to? What are they going achive with these killings?
We need a new president. Zardari is doing nothing but taking this country down. Shame on this government.
the attack on shia pilgirms near mastung is showing the act of barbarism. in islam or in civilized nations the barbarism is not allowed , its showes that as nation we are reversing and going down day by day fron bed to wrost. as nation we alls togather one place and eradicate all those elements which are becoimg the reason of unrest our country,
I am ashamed, angry and speechless. May Allah give patience to the breaved families.
These ruthless people who are killing innocent Muslims should be caught and then given bitter punishment so that no one ever dare kill anyone. No one has the right to kill innocent people. We should wake up from our slumber and stop these villains.
Pakistani security establishment should conduct an indiscriminate operation against all these monstrous extremist organisations who are destroying the fabric of the society by systematically targeting the minorities all across the country.
Peace in Pakistan can only be attained by a complete ANNIHILATION of the Talibans and similar organizations like the Haqqani Network etc. No questions asked!!