Two Hazara Shot Dead on May 16. Photo Awaz Nasl Nau

The Express Tribune report

QUETTA: After an interval of a few weeks, sectarian targeted killings resumed in Quetta on Tuesday morning as two brothers belonging to the Hazara community were gunned down outside the regional passport office near Joint Road.

According to a senior police officer, Mohammad Tahir and Mohmmad Qadir had come to the post office to get their passports made and were attacked outside the main gate of the office at 7.15 am.

The assailants were on a motorcycle and fled the scene after opening fire at the two brothers. “Both men died on the spot and another man of the Hazara community received bullet wounds,” police said.

The bodies and injured were taken to Sandeman hospital where stringent security measures were adopted to thwart another attempted attack. The injured, identified as Manzoor Ali, was referred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for security reasons, sources in the hospital said. “It was sectarian target shooting,” another senior investigating officer said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault.

It is pertinent to mention here that around 28 people of Hazara community have been killed in the recent spate of target killings this year. Some police officers investigating sectarian killings, such as SSP Crime Investigation Department Shahnawaz Khan and sub-inspector Sayed Jamal Shah were also gunned down in Quetta in the recent past. On the other hand, some religious scholars of Sunni sect were also victims of targeted attacks in the provincial capital and religious parties believe that some elements are trying to instigate sectarian violence in Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2012.

Protest rally in Toronto, Canada against Hazara genocide.

Toronto: A protest rally was held in Toronto, Canada against the systematic genocide of Hazaras in Pakistan. Protesters marched down to Dundas Square holding banners and placards with slogans against killing of Hazaras by sectarian terrorists in Pakistani city of Quetta. The rally was organized by Hazara Association of Canada.

Placards read: “Stop Genocide of Hazara People in Pakistan”, “We Canadians Want Our Government to Pressurize Pakistan to Stop Killing of Hazara People”, “Stop Supporting Taliban”, etc.

Speakers urged human rights organizations, the international community and United Nations to take notice of the systematic killing of Hazara minority in Pakistani city of Quetta. They said a community of 600,000 are besieged and living under constant threat and fear. People cannot travel from their homes to schools, universities, bazaar and markets due to daily killing of Hazaras. They strongly condemned the Government of Pakistan for its utter failure to maintain peace. Speakers further questioned the role of powerful military intelligence agencies in Pakistan, asking how could a bunch of sectarian terrorists operate with impunity, it is not complicity of elements from within the law enforcement agencies.

The protesters urged the Canadian Government to use diplomatic pressure to stop a humanitarian crisis in Pakistani city of Quetta.

Protest rally in Toronto, Canada against Hazara genocide.

BBC Urdu, posted with vodpod

Quetta: Minority Support Pakistan has released a 76-page independent investigative report by a fact-finding mission of international observers and legal experts who came to Quetta in November, 2011. Titled, “The Shia Hazara of Pakistan; a Community Under Siege”, the report is a detailed documentation and evidence of attacks on Hazaras in Quetta since last ten years.

The report combines a number of diverse elements including: extensive background information on the Hazara people and province of Balochistan; detailed accounts and a summary record of the now 20-year history of sectarian violence in Quetta; extensive anecdotal evidence from survivors of recent attacks; photographic documentation; legal petitions and proceedings from the Balochistan High Court; narrative analysis from senior members of the community; and a synthesis of news media and community accounts highlighting the negligence and ineptitude of local, provincial, and national law enforcement agencies. The conclusion of the report provides a series of actionable recommendations to be undertaken by various agencies and stakeholders in law enforcement, judiciary, legislature, the media, and Pakistani civil society at large.

Download the report in PDF here.

Quetta: A Hazara man was killed by unknown gunmen Mastung on Sunday, May 06. He was working at his tyre shop in Dasht area of Mastung, when unknown armed men riding on a bike opened fire and killed him at the spot. The victim is identified as Muhammad Ali.

Click to Read BBC Urdu report of the protest.

Protest in front of UN Headquarters in New York against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

The Nation report

UNITED NATIONS – A large number of people on Friday staged a rally in front of United Nations Headquarters in New York to protest the targeted killing of Hazaras in Quetta, and urged the world body to help in protecting the community members.

“Stop Killing Hazaras,” the protesters shouted. “We want justice …Wake up UN,” they demanded while shouting anti-government slogans.
Speakers at the rally called on the Pakistan government to provide adequate protection to Hazaras, crack down on the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants and bring the culprits to justice. A memorandum to this effect was submitted to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Dawn report.

DAWN report.

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Protest in front of UN Headquarters in New York against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

DAWN report.

Read full report on France24 here.

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TOLOTV Report

Rally in Kabul against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

Al Jazeera Report 

Hundreds of Hazara Shia have taken to the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, to protest against what they call the targeted killings of members of their minority group in neighbouring Pakistan.

Protesters, numbering about 400, hoisted placards reading “Death to Terrorism” and “Shame, Shame Pakistan” on Friday as they called on Pakistan to protect members of the ethnic group after dozens of Shia were killed in the southwestern province of Balochistan in the past few months.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Fatima Jahfari, a female protester, asked when the killing of Hazara would stop.

“Until when will being a Hazara be a crime? Until when will we be told that because we are Hazara, we have to be

martyred and until when will we be martyred because we are Shia?” she said.

Kazim Waheedi, organiser of the protest, said the killing of Hazaras in Pakistan was on the rise.

“In the past two months ,150 Hazaras have been killed, which shows a huge increase. And the reason of our

gathering is against this inhuman action by Pakistan,” Waheedi, a medical doctor and activist, said.

The heavily guarded demonstration was blocked by Afghan police officers from reaching the Pakistani embassy in

Kabul.

Friday’s protests come weeks after other similar rallies in major world cities, including protests last month in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, where a tight-knit community of about 500,000 Hazara Shia live.

Violence against Shia in Afghanistan has been fairly rare since the ousting of the Taliban from power in 2001, but more common in Pakistan, where many Afghans have migrated during the decades of war in the Central Asian nation.

A Pakistani embassy official in Kabul dismissed criticism that Hazaras or other Shia were being neglected.

In a sign of growing worries about security, protesters on Friday divided into three groups to avoid possible attacks like a series of blasts in December, 2011, on Shia ceremonies in Kabul and two other areas that killed scores.

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Photos

Rally in Kabul against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

HDP Chairman Abdul Khaliq Hazara addressing thousands in Hazara Town on May 04.

Quetta: Hazara Democratic Party held a large protest sit-in at Aliabad Junction in Hazara Town on May 04 as part of the worldwide protest rallies against Hazara genocide in Quetta.

Thousands of Hazara Town residents attended the sit-in addressed by HDP leaders. Masses were chanting slogans against the Provincial Balochistan Government for complicity of Administration officials in support Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who kill Hazaras routinely with impunity.

HDP Chairman Abdul Khaliq Hazara said the elements from within the Provincial Government are involved in killing of Hazaras. He also criticized the security establishment saying that Taliban and militant-minded religious groups are strengthened in Balochistan to weaken secular nationalist forces, who have mass support.

Khaliq Hazara further said that those behind the killing of Hazaras in Quetta want to bring different ethnic groups of the city at war. He added,

“Our enemies want us to go at war with Baloch and Pashtun of Balochistan. But by massacring Hazaras, our enemies will not bring our community morale down. Our enemies should know that Hazara will never indulge in violence. We will fight peacefully. Hazaras have proved throughout history that we are a peace-loving nation and will not go violent.”

Thousands attended HDP’s Hazara Town sit-in on May 04.

He thanked Hazara diaspora across the globe for organizing worldwide protest demonstrations to raise voice against the genocide in Quetta, and urged them to continue the struggle to bring Hazaras’ plight to the notice of international community and civilized world.

Member of Central Committee HDP, Zaman Dehqanzada said:

“Pakistani security established has grown militant groups to counter and silence the secular nationalist forces in Pakistan. All such killings are aimed at defaming the civilian democratic government so that people are compelled to prefer military dictatorship for security. We know we are facing the worst time of our history in Quetta, but Hazara will not resort to violence. We will remain peaceful and the hardships will make diamond out of every member of our community.”

Information Secretary of HDP Raza Wakil said:

“We know some strong elements from the security establishment want to create sectarian and ethnic rifts in Quetta. But they will never succeed in provoking Hazara to violence against any other ethnic groups with whom we have been living in peace and harmony for centuries. It was a Baloch passerby who helped a Hazara injured on Sabzal Road when terrorists killed two others in an iron-smith shop. It was a Pashtun passerby who helped the Hazara cab driver on Spini Road when terrorists escaped after killing several.”

 

Protest in Turin, Italy against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

Turin: A protest demonstration was held in Turin city of Italy on May 01 against the systematic killing of Hazaras in Quetta city of Pakistan.

Hazara immigrants rallied on streets of the city to protest against the Pakistani Government for negligence and complicity in the on-going terror campaign of sectarian militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi against an ethnic minority in Quetta city. They were holding banners and placards with slogans against the Government of Pakistan and pleading the international community to pressurize Islamabad to stop a genocide-in-making in Quetta.

Hundreds rallied in Oslo, Norway against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

Oslo: Protesters marched on roads of Norwegian capital Oslo on April 30 against the genocide of Hazara in Pakistan. They were holding banners and placards against the systematic killing of an ethnic minority for their Shia faith, and urged the international community to help stop the killing of Hazaras in Quetta city of Pakistan.

They were holding banners calling the UN to take notice of a genocide-in-making in Quetta, Pakistan. A child was holding a placard that read: “Massacre of Hazaras in 21st Century is a Shame for Humanity”.

Speakers condemned the security establishment–Army and Intelligence agencies–of Pakistan for negligence of the situation in Quetta where victims accuse complicity of Government elements supporting the terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who have killed more than 700 Hazaras in the last ten years, without one prosecution.

The speakers said it was a humanitarian crisis. An ethnic minority of over 600,000 people are besieged in a small multi-ethnic city of few million population. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant sectarian organization that kill Shias. In a letter thrown in streets of Quetta, Hazaras have been warned by LeJ to leave Pakistan by 2012, or Quetta will be turned into their graveyard. Only in the last few weeks, over 40 Hazaras have been killed.

Protesters urged the international community to pressurize Pakistan to stop the merciless killings of Hazaras.

Hundreds protest in Oslo, Norway against Hazara genocide in Pakistan.

Protest in Denmark against Hazara genocide in Pakistan, April 30.

Copenhagen: A protest demonstration was held in Copenhagen, Denmark against the systematic genocide of Hazaras on April 30 in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Protesters were holding banners and placards pleading the international community to help stop the systematic killing of Hazaras in Quetta city of Pakistan, where more than 700 people of this ethnic have been killed during last ten years.

Speakers strongly condemned the Government of Pakistan for its utter failure and negligence of the situation in Quetta where Hazara are besieged by a bunch of sectarian terrorists who operate with impunity. They urged the United Nations to take notice of the killings. They termed it a “systematic genocide” and called the international community to stop a humanitarian crisis.

Protesters urged the international community to stop a genocide-in-making.

Protest demo in Rome, Italy against Hazara genocide.

Rome: A protest demonstration was held in Rome, Italy on April 28 against Hazara genocide in Pakistan. Protesters were holding banners and placards with slogans urging the international community to raise voice against genocide of a minority community in Pakistan.

Speakers highlighted a brief history of the killings of Hazaras by sectarian terrorists in Pakistan since last ten years. They strongly condemned the negligence and complicity of law enforcement agencies for their utter failure to control the situation. A speaker said the strong military intelligence agencies of Pakistan have given free hand to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and other Al-Qaeda allied sectarian outfits who are killing with impunity. He demanded the UN to take notice of a genocide and stop a humanitarian crisis in Pakistani city of Quetta.

Protest demo in Rome, Italy against Hazara genocide.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has launched Human Rights and Democracy: The 2011 Foreign & Commonwealth Report on Monday, April 30. The report is a comprehensive look at the human rights work of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) around the world in 2011.

Pakistan remains among the countries of “serious concern”. The report mentions Hazara killings and says,

In particular, we are concerned about targeted attacks on the Hazara population in Balochistan in the second half of 2011 and the Ahmadi community in Pakistan.

The High Commission in Islamabad and the FCO in London has held meetings with representatives from the Christian, Ahmadi and Hazara communities to hear of the persecution that they face, and has had regular engagement with the Ministry of Human Rights and civil society groups engaged in promoting religious tolerance and dialogue, many of whom have received death threats.

Read the full report in PDF here. Read British Foreign Secretary William Hagues speech at the launch of the report.

Increased attacks on the Hazara community in Pakistan have raised questions about the nature of these crimes. Some label them as a wave of sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis while others warn of a systematic targeting of this ethnic minority. Why are the Hazara targeted? And what is the Pakistani government doing to protect minority groups?

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Ahmad Shuja, a writer for UN Dispatch; Major Nadir Ali, Senior Leader of the Hazara tribe in Quetta; and Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party.

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Check the full report on Al Jazeera’s AJ Stream show.

British Ex-Home Secretary and current MP Alan Johnson joined protest in London against Hazara genocide in Quetta, Pakistan.

Report by The News International 

LONDON: Britain’s former Home Secretary Alan Johnson joined hundreds of protestors outside the High Commission of Pakistan here to condemn the wave of killings of ethnic Hazara Shia in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.

The Labour MP criticised Pakistani government for failing to take effective steps against the sectarian killers who persecute Hazaras routinely and with impunity.

“I am here to stand in solidarity with Hazaras who face ethnic cleaning in Balochistan yet the government of Pakistan is showing no concern. In the last 10 years more than 700 Hazaras have been killed which is a scandal. The government doesn’t seem concerned and has shown no interest in catching the killers,” said the former Home Secretary, who called on Interior Minister Rehman Malik, his former counterpart, to take action and not only rely on issuing statements.

The protest organised by Hazara Progressive Alliance drew Hazaras living in the UK from various towns and cities, many of them direct victims of sectarian terrorism unleashed by banned sectarian groups Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jehangvi and other pro-Taleban/Al-Qaeda militants who target Hazaras due to their distinctive features.

Ali Raza Mogul told the protestors that Hazaras were forced to come outside Pakistan High Commission after failing to get any attention from the Pakistani government over the heart-wrenching killings. “There is a heavy presence of the law-enforcement agencies in Quetta city but it is matter of great concern that Hazaras get killed on daily basis. The government has failed to catch terrorists.”

Syed Inayat Shah said that terrorists had been given free hand by the state security agencies to act as it suited them. He said Lashkar-e-Jangvi had publicly claimed that it will turn Quetta city into a big graveyard of Hazara Shias but no action was taken against them. He criticised Rehman Malik and Balochistan’s Chief Minister Nawab Raisani only played to the cameras and were concerned about their own media publicity and were “involved in the politics of dead bodies”. He said Hazaras didn’t enjoy political and financial might in the country and that was the reasons why the establishment didnít want to upset the ruthless sectarian elements who were still seen as “security assets” in some circles.

The protestors presented a memorandum to Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s High Commission to the UK and stated how different meetings with the High Commission officials had failed to produce any results, forcing Hazaras to protest on the streets of London.

The memorandum said: “We have had no option but to gather here to cry out loudly so that our voices are heard by those responsible for the safety and security of innocent Hazaras of Quetta. If this doesn’t work and the government continues to give us the impression that our community members in Quetta are living in Jungle, we will have to seek recourse to further legal but more radical avenues for the redress of our grievances. This may please be noted for your record.” They demanded that the genocide of Hazaras be immediately stopped; the government work out a viable plan to initiate a comprehensive and rigorous targeted operation against the LeJ terrorists and all other religious militants in and around Quetta city immediately; and that the victims and the affected families must be financially supported in order that they can overcome financial constraints.

British Ex-Home Secretary and current MP Alan Johnson joined protest in London against Hazara genocide in Quetta, Pakistan.

Protest in Lahore against Hazara genocide in Quetta.

Lahore: The Institue of Peace and Secular Studies held a protest demonstration in front of Lahore Press Club on April 28 to condemn the criminal silence of Government on Hazara killings in Quetta, Pakistan.

Speakers said the security establishment must crackdown on sectarian terrorists who are on a killing spree in Quetta targeting the Hazara ethnic minority for their Shia faith. The urged human rights organizations to raise voice for the plight of Hazaras, as it is a humanitarian crisis. Protesters were holding banners and placards with slogans that read: “Why the UN is Silent on Hazara Genocide”, “Down with Balochistan Government”.

Protest in Lahore against Hazara genocide in Quetta.

Thousands rallied in Vienna, Austria against genocide of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan.

Vienna: Thousands of protesters marched on streets of Vienna, Austria on April 28 condemning the systematic genocide of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan. The protesters rallied in front of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and speakers urged the European Union to condemn a humanitarian crisis in Quetta city of Pakistan, where an ethnic minority is living under constant fear and trauma because of routine attacks by sectarian terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who kill them for their Shia faith.

Protesters were holding banners and placards condemning the Government of Pakistan for its utter failure to provide security to Hazaras. Banners read: “Stop Genocide of Hazaras in Pakistan”, “UN Take Notice”. Speakers said that more than 700 members of the Hazara community have been killed, but not a single killer is prosecuted by the Government. They added that the strong security establishment of Pakistan and its military intelligence agencies have given free hand to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to mass-slaughter Hazaras. They urged the international community to stop a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Hazaras have migrated from Quetta, and people have stopped traveling from one part of the city to another, and living under constant fear of attacks.

The speakers said if the Pakistani security establishment does not launch crackdown against LeJ operatives in Quetta, Balochistan, they will have to take further steps by knocking the doors of International Court of Justice and United Nations.

Thousands rallied in Vienna, Austria against genocide of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan.

Hazara Students Federation and National Students Federation held a seminar in Islamabad Press Club on Hazara genocide.

Islamabad: Speakers at a seminar on Saturday, April 28 termed that the target killings of Hazara community in Quetta a systematic way of genocide.

The Hazara Students Federation (HSF) and the National Students Federation co-hosted a seminar at the National Press Club, Islamabad to explore reasons and causes behind continued targeted killings of the Hazara people in Balochistan.

A panel consisting of Alia Amirali, Sajjad Changezi of the HSF, and prominent security analyst Dr Ayesha Siddiqa spent three hours presenting a history of the Hazaras and Balochistan, and an analysis of the drivers behind the province’s excessive levels of violence.

“There is an attempt to pit the Hazara against the Baloch. They try to tell us that it is a Rind, or people from Mastung, who have targeted us. They attempt to pin the blame on the Baloch. But we have always known that it is not the Baloch that are behind these killings,” says Changezi.

“The same goes for relations between the Pashtun and Baloch. The Frontier Corps (FC) is behind the killings of the Baloch in the province. If you look at that dynamic closely, you will notice that Pashtuns dominate the ranks of the FC,” Amirali continued.

“Hazara killings have been framed as an example of ‘sectarian violence’. We think this sort of framing is unfortunate, because it fails to appreciate the link between the broader violence that is being inflicted on Balochistan, and the killings of the Hazara people,” Amirali said.

“Some also link us to Iran, just because we are Shia. It is these sorts of misconceptions that create an environment, where Hazara families receive letters from Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, telling us to leave Quetta before 2012. They think we’re here to bring about some sort of Shia revolution. This is completely and utterly untrue,” Changezi explains.

Changezi explained that the Hazara people came to Quetta from Afghanistan, where persecution of the Hazaras at the end of the 1800s forced them to migrate to neighbouring countries. The Hazaras refused to recognise the reigning Amir. In retaliation, the Amir massacred more than 60 per cent of the Hazaras in the area.
“When we moved to Quetta, we were welcomed. I am proud to have grown up there,” Changezi said.
“But now, our 500,000 strong community is threatened by violence. As many as 700 people have been killed in these areas. This is a case of one-sided violence, because the Hazaras have never supported any militant group. There is talk of a systematic genocide,” Changezi concluded.
“It is difficult to ignore the role of the state, and the security forces, in this spate of violence,” said Changezi. According to Changezi, the continued violence indicates that the state has either failed to protect its citizens, or is complicit in the violence.
‘Hazaras not treated as human, Muslim or Pakistani’ Dr Siddiqa, the last speaker, started out with clasping her palms.
“I want to use this opportunity to ask the Hazara people for your forgiveness. We, the civil society that many of you talk about, and appreciate for our so-called support, have done nothing. We stay in our homes, and do nothing,” Dr Siddiqa said.“I am a human, a Muslim and a Pakistani. This state takes away your right to call yourselves this. Because for this state, the assets in Balochistan are more important than the people,” said Dr Siddiqa.
She went on to explain that the state was fighting a war for Balochistan’s riches, failing to pursue a people-centric policy in the province.
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa said, “The situation in Balochistan reflects the establishment’s unwillingness to allow a substantive political process to take root which empowers all of Balochistan’s ethnic communities.” She said that over the years, the volume of funds provided for strengthening religious seminaries in Balochistan is higher than the education budget of the provinces. “The province is infested with intelligence operatives from all of the country’s agencies,” she said.

Later, the participants also record a brief protest outside of the press club, holding banners and placards condemned the killing of the Hazara community.

Sources: Dawn and Express Tribune 

Sajjad Changezi of HSF, Alia Amirali of NSF and prominent security analyst Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa speaking in a seminar about Hazara genocide.

Quetta: A protest demonstration was held in front of Karachi Press Club on April 28 against the genocide of Hazaras in Quetta. Participants were chanting slogans against the utter failure of Government in maintaining law and order in Quetta, where members of an ethnic minority community are being killed routinely by sectarian terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Speakers said elements in the Provincial Government are involved in the systematic genocide.

The protesters demanded the United Nations to take notice of a genocide-in-making before the eyes of the world, while the Pakistani Government is ignoring. They alleged complicity of some elements from within the Administration, who have given free hand to LeJ operatives to slaughter Hazaras.