QUETTA, Feb 23: Shia leaders on Saturday demanded that a key figure of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group be put on trial, a day after he was arrested in Punjab following deadly sectarian attacks in Quetta.

LJ leader Malik Ishaq was held on Friday after two recent bombings in Quetta targeting the Shia-Hazara minority killed more than 180 people, sparking nationwide protests. The outlawed militant group claimed responsibility for both attacks.

“We have always been demanding arrest of all those involved in any act of sectarian violence, irrespective of their party affiliation,” said Abdul Khaliq Hazara, leader of the Hazara Democratic Party. “Ishaq must be brought to justice and punished for involvement in violence,” he added.Malik Ishaq, who has been arrested before, was released by a court on bail in July 2011, even though he has been implicated in dozens of murders.

He was detained briefly in 2012 for inciting sectarian hatred and has also been accused of masterminding the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, which wounded several players and killed eight Pakistanis.

His latest arrest – which came a day after the Army denied any links to LJ – should not be an “eye wash”, said Sajid Naqvi, another Shia leader. “We demand his trial and the authorities should provide protection to witnesses who would like to appear in the court,” he said.—AFP