LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday condemned Thursday’s killing of 25 Shia Muslims pulled out of buses headed for Gilgit Baltistan, as well as target killing of three Shias in Quetta and demanded that the authorities explain why the killers roamed free and how the government planned to ensure security for the citizens targeted because of their religious belief.
In a press statement, HRCP said that it was appalling that terrorists have once again succeeded in targeting Shia Muslims without facing any difficulties. The Commission likened Thursday’s attack to a similar one carried out in Kohistan in February. The latter had caused people to switch to Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad route instead of the Karakoram Highway.
Furthermore, HRCP expressed concern over the suffering of Hazara Shia community in Quetta and said that such target killings are no longer an anomaly in Pakistan.
HRCP also stressed that the target killings in Quetta had only been possible because of government’s negligence and its inability to capture and punish the culprits of earlier target killings in Quetta and Kohistan.
HRCP said that the killings had obviously been the work of anti-state elements in Pakistan but if the government fails to capture and punish these culprits, it would only serve to destroy the country, giving the terrorists exactly what they want. Furthermore, HRCP pointed out that the attack on Kamra airbase only showed that Taliban is no one’s friend.