Members of Shia Hazara community have been staging a sit-in at Quetta’s Western Bypass demanding better security following a deadly blast in Hazarganji market which killed 20 people. The Hazara community has been at the receiving end in a Sunni dominated Pakistan and have faced severe persecution.
At least 20 people were killed and scores injured in a blast believed to be targeting members of the Hazara community in Quetta’s Hazarganji market on Friday morning.
The history of Hazara people in Pakistan dates back to the 1840s when Hazara tribesmen from Hazarajat began migration to colonial India because of persecution by Pashtuns and Tajiks. The mass-migration and permanent settlements started in the 1890s when Emir Abdul Rahman Khan started persecuting the Hazaras of Afghanistan. The majority of Hazara are Shi’a Muslims with a sizable Sunni minority.
Women and children are among those who have been staging a sit-in since shortly after the blast. The protesters demand that the government implements an effective security plan and ensure the protection of the Hazara community.
Eight Hazara, an FC official and two children were among the dead. At least 48 others, including three security personnel, were injured in the blast, police and provincial authorities said.
Of the injured, 12 are under-treatment at BMC Hospital and three are said to be critical. Four others are being treated at Civil Hospital and one is said to be critical. Twenty-six of the 38 injured brought to Bolan Hospital have been discharged.
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