Thursday, March 5, 2009

More Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan


 
More Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan
Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:30:33 GMT
Activists protest against Shia killings in Pakistan
The Taliban and its allied groups have killed at least five members of the Shia Muslim community in the troubled southwestern Pakistan.

The men were killed when Taliban-linked militants opened fire on their car in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent reported..

The victims belonged to the Shia Hazara community and were traveling to the city in a van when they were targeted.

The gunmen then fled the scene and all of the passengers on the van died, police said.

Quetta has witnessed several instances of violence directed against the Hazara community in recent months.

Earlier on Friday outside the town of Hangu in the troubled North West Frontier Province, Taliban insurgents ambushed a minibus carrying Shia children to school, killing three and injuring several others.

Some reports have cited grave human rights abuses against Shias in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar.

Taliban-linked militants in the towns of Parachinar and Hangu and other areas in the Kurram tribal region have killed hundreds of community members during the last six months, Pakistani media reports have revealed.

Taliban's influence is also rapidly increasing its grip on the major cities and even the so-called settled areas in the country.

The violence continues despite an order issued by Pakistani Interior Chief Rehman Malik that demands the protection of the Shia minority.

Shia sources say they make up one-third of Pakistan's population of nearly 160 million. Since the 1980s, thousands of people have been killed in violence-related incidents in Pakistan.

 

 

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Media blackout on Parachinar Shia killings

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:41:45 GMT
 
Leading Pakistani scholars strongly condemn the 'western media censor-policy' over the Shia Muslim killings in the northwestern city of Parachinar.

Political experts and religious scholars, attending a summit in the Iranian city of Qom, emphasized on the necessity to launch a regional media campaign to raise global awareness about the issue.

The summit held in Iranian city of Qom under the banner "Holocaust of Shias in Parachinar," came in the wake of the killings of hundreds of Shia community-members over the past six months in Parachinar and Hangu.

Pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants, who are reportedly behind the killings, have imposed an economic blockade against the Shia-dominated population areas.

The frequent incidents have raised concerns among human rights group, while moderate Pakistani Sunni groups have described the issue as a conspiracy against the country.

Taliban leaders, who were toppled in the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, took refuge to tribal regions in Pakistan and rapidly began to extend heir influence from tribes to major towns and cities.

The pro-Taliban anti-Shia groups have launched a violent campaign against the Shia Muslims, and are stretching the campaign toward the restive southwestern Pakistan as well.

Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province has witnessed several instances of violence directed against the Hazara Shia community in recent months.

Several Shia religious gatherings have also been targeted in central province of Punjab over the past some months.

Tehran has repeatedly cautioned Islamabad over the 'silent massacre' of its Shia community by the Taliban in the country. "The incidents that have occurred against Pakistan's Shia community are a plot to create conflict between the region's Sunni and Shia population," said Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

"We have warned Islamabad over the incidents and we will follow up on the matter," he added.

Shia sources say they make up one-third of Pakistan's population of nearly 160 million. Since the 1980s, thousands of people have been killed in sectarian-related incidents in Pakistan.

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