...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
's hapless Hazara Shias. According to a representative of the community, gunnies removed non-Hazara passengers from a bus on the outskirts of Quetta before opening fire on the Hazara passengers and killing 13 people. The attack followed the chilling murder of 26 Shia pilgrims on their way from Quetta to Iran in Mastung on Sept 20. They were lined up in a row to be bumped off, execution-style. Following as these do a number of other targeted attacks against Hazaras over the summer, this is nothing short of a campaign of sectarian and ethnic cleansing. Members of the community are easily recognisable physically,
| I googled images, and they appeared fairer of skin and more oriental of features than my mental image of Pakistanis. Do they also dress differently? |
But what is also making this possible are the ties that various cut-thoat groups have built with each other across the country. It is the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi of southern Punjab that is suspected to be behind most of these killings; having developed links with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi faceless myrmidons have found a convenient area of operation in and around Quetta, retreating into seminaries and other safe havens in nearby lawless border areas between attacks. The sectarian Jundallah group is also suspected to have a hand in anti-Shia violence in Balochistan, despite its focus on Iran. The situation is thus a prime example of the fallout from increasing collaboration among cut-thoat groups present in different parts of Pakistain. It also demonstrates that going after anyone of them will not be enough. Besides providing the Hazara community with much better protection, the situation will require a commitment to tackle the faceless myrmidons who are targeting Shias as well as those who have allowed them to operate with such impunity in this part of Balochistan.