The killings of Hazara community in Balochistan continues unabated. The restive province continues to witness brutal attacks against Hazara community with the most recent incident one on Monday in which two brothers were killed when unknown armed militants opened indiscriminate firing that also injured their parents.
The report titled "We are the Walking Dead" by Human Rights Watch last year maintains that several hundred Hazara were assassinated in a steadily worsening targeted violence since 2008, urging the government to take all necessary measures to stop the extremist groups in Balochistan province from committing further killings and other abuses against Hazara community.
Talking to Business Recorder leaders of the opposition political parties criticised the government for its failure to ensure protection to the lives of innocent people particularly the people belonging to Hazara community. "The Balochistan provincial government has virtually lost its writ even in the provincial capital Quetta and the continued incidents of target killings is a clear indication of the government's failure", said Senator Hafiz Hamdullah, a senior leader of Jamiat Ulem-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) from Balochistan.
He said the terrorists can target anybody they want at anytime of their choosing while the government, despite using huge resources and state machinery, has not been able to control the terror attacks. "If the government is unable to restore the peace in Quetta, the provincial capital, how can one expect it to run the affairs of the province?" he asked.
The law and order situation has worsened, he added, and it is worse than what is being reported in the mainstream media, adding that it is unfortunate that the media is giving more coverage to Karachi, and is silent on Balochistan situation where 20 to 30 people are killed in targeted incidents on daily basis. He said that his party would take up the matter in the next Senate session through an adjournment motion, adding several members of the Upper House from Balochistan representing different political parties have already signed the motion to discus the law and order situation of Balochistan.
Senator Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini, leader of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), said that it was responsibility of the central and provincial governments to provide protection to the life and property of the citizens. "Being a victim, we can understand the plight of the Hazara community and we strongly condemn the continued violence against the community", he said, adding sectarian violence should be condemned by all and these elements should not be given any space in society.
However, Mir Kabeer Shahi, leader of the ruling National Party (NP) in Balochistan, said that the situation is not 100 percent perfect but has significantly improved in the last two years due to the resolve of the provincial government to root out the menace of terrorism.
He said the terrorists, after getting a tough time from the law enforcement agencies, were using silencers (in guns) in terror activities to flee unnoticed after the attack. But the government is alive to this and is changing its techniques and strategy to deal with the militants with an iron hand, he added. "We are not perfect...we believe there is a lot to do for the restoration of peace but we are sincerely making efforts to effectively deal with the terrorists", he said, adding the provincial government was aware of its responsibility to ensure protection of life and property of every citizen.
Comments
Comments are closed.