QUETTA: At least eight persons including police personnel have been gunned down while two including a boy injured in four separate incidents of firing in the metropolis on Saturday.
Police said that unknown armed men riding bike opened fire at a yellow-cab on Brewery Road in Killi Ibrahim Zai area, adding that resultantly, six persons seated in the rented vehicle were killed.
The assailants managed to escape. The law enforcement personnel rushed to the site and shifted the bodies to Bolan Medical College hospital where the victims were identified as Abdullah, Juma Ali, Muhammad Ali, Syed Asghar Shah, Eid Muhammad while identity of the sixth dead could not be ascertained. All of them said to be belonged to Hazara community.
In another incident of firing, unidentified gunmen riding bike opened fire on people on Sabzal road, in which one person identified as Gul Muhammad was killed and another injured who was identified as Muhammad Hasan.
The dead and the wounded were shifted to BMC hospital.
In a third incident, the gunmen opened fire at a policeman within jurisdiction of PS Shalkot, killing him. In fourth incident of firing, a 15-year-old boy who was identified as Sabir was seriously injured on Toghi road when enraged people who were staging demonstration against the target killing retorted to aerial firing.
The injured has been referred to Combined Military Hospital Quetta from BMC hospital due to his serious condition.
Hundreds of infuriate people gathered at Mizan roundabout, a commercial hub of the city. They set tyres on fire and blocked roads for traffic in protest against the unabated incidents of target killing. Hundreds of more protestors gathered outside BMC hospital and they torched an official vehicle and a motorcycle which were parked there.
Reports reaching here said that enraged protestors also opened fire at Station House Office (SHO) of Brewery police station, however, he remained safe.
The FC and police personnel escorted students and teachers of Sardar Bahadar Khan Women University and schools located close to the affected areas where they were besieged after the protestors opened aerial firing. All commercial markets and centers were closed and traffic was thin soon after the incidents of target killing.
Home Department has called in 10 more platoons of the Frontier Corps to maintain peace in the city. Heavy contingents of FC, police and Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) have been deployed on sensitive points including Mizan chowk, Jinnah road, Brewery road, Sariab road, Airport road, Sabzal road, Alamdar road and others to meet any untoward incident.
The law enforcement agencies raided various places in the city and took over 100 suspected persons into their custody who were being interrogated. The bodies of the dead after autopsy have been shifted to Imambargah in Hazara Town where their final rituals would be offered.
Tahaffaz Azadari Council has announced a seven-day mourns in the city. Hazara Qaumi Jirga, Shia Conference and all political and religious parties have condemned the unabated incidents of target killings which had claimed about 25 lives and injured several others during last 10 days in the provincial capital.
On this occasion, talking to media, Home Secretary Balochistan Nasibullah Bazai said that they could not provide complete security and protection to citizens. He, however, said that a comprehensive security plan had been devised which after approval from the relevant authorities would be implemented.
The FC, ATF and police have been patrolling in the city. Police sources said that according to preliminary investigation, the incidents are apparently seen to be linked with sectarian killing. Further probe was underway. The continuous incidents of target killings have created fear, harassment and tension in the city.
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