Once again the beleaguered Hazara community is holding sit-in on Alamdar Road. People are sitting under the open sky without food and drinking water, and adequate security measures. This protest is against the series of target killings of community members. According to reports of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, in recent five years, at least 509 individuals who belonged to the Hazara community were targeted in Quetta. Over the last decade, about 2,000 members were killed. This protest is reminiscent of the 2013 sit-in where more than 100 people were killed in twin savage attacks.
No stringent measures were taken for their security. These people are only demanding the right to life. In Quetta, attacks on small ethnic, sectarian and religious groups have increased over the years. It is a big challenge for the incumbent chief minister to ensure safety of small groups. The government should chalk out viable strategies to tackle sectarian violence in the province. We should take steps to once again make Quetta the cradle of pluralism.
Inzamam Qasim Silachi
Sibi