‘Pakistan extremists seek Shia genocide’

An Iranian lawmaker condemns the recent bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in a market in southwestern Pakistan, blaming extremists for such acts of terror. On Sunday, member of the Majlis Presiding Board Alireza Monadi Sefidaan expressed regret for the deadly attacks on Pakistan’s Shia communities, and said the promotion of Wahhabi-inspired anti-Shia ideology poses a serious challenge to both the Islamabad government and the Muslim world. He added that the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has targeted Shia Muslims across Pakistan over the past few years, and is pursuing its long-term goal of exterminating Shias using religious excuses. Monadi Sefidaan also criticized senior Pakistani officials for their failure to protect Shias from recurring sectarian attacks. "The negligence of the Pakistani central government in providing security for the Shia in the country has caused these terrorist groups to kill Shias easily and without any concern [as part of efforts] to change the demographic population of Pakistan through the massacre of the Shias," he pointed out. The Iranian lawmaker criticized the silence of international organizations over attacks against Pakistani Shias, calling on the United Nations and international humanitarian foundations to take effective measures and stop the violence. Dozens of people were killed in a bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, located 700 kilometers (435 miles) southwest of the capital Islamabad, on Saturday. According to the police, most of the victims were Hazara Shias. Burnt school bags and books of schoolchildren were scattered everywhere, witnesses said. Nearly 200 people were also wounded in the attack. According to Human Rights Watch, the Pakistani government has failed to stop violence against Shias, who account for around 20 percent of the 167-million-strong population of the country. The pro-Taliban militants have been involved in a violent campaign against Shia Muslims in Pakistan over the past years.