QUETTA: Four members of the Hazara community were killed on Saturday in a clash with the police, while 12 others, including three police personnel, were injured, the police said on Saturday. The clashes erupted between the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) and the Hazara community members when the latter were protesting against the murder of a fellow Hazara, who was killed in a car-snatching incident. The ATF also reportedly opened fire on a delegation of four ministers, injuring Hazara Qaumi Jirga Chairman Qayyum Changazi. The ministers had gone to the scene.Jan Ali Changazi, a Pakistan PeopleÂ’s Party (PPP) member of the Balochistan Assembly from the Hazara community, told Daily Times that the ATF was responsible for the killing of four Hazara community members and that the force had opened fire on him and three ministers when they tried to reach the scene to calm down the protesters.
A senior police officer said that Hazara community members had reacted to the killing of a community member in a car-snatching incident on Saturday morning by marching towards the murder scene, resulting in a clash with a Baloch tribe. The police officer said that when the ATF arrived at the scene and tried to control the situation, the protesters opened fire on the force, injuring three police personnel. The ATF returned fire, killing four protesters and injuring nine, he added.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani met with a delegation of the Hazara community and condemned the incident.