QUETTA: No army, no retreat

In spite of repeated assurances by a six-member parliamentary delegation of the government of providing security to Hazara Shias in Quetta, mourners protesting with bodies of the Kirani Road bombing victims have refused to end their protest until the army takes charge of the city. Meanwhile, sit-in demonstrations and protests in all major cities and towns of the country paralysed routine life, halting railway traffic and disrupting flights at all major airports. Earlier, the parliamentary delegation comprising Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, PPP MNA Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, PPP MNA Nadeem Afzal Chan, PPP Senator Sughra Imam, PPP MNA Yasmeen Rehman and Minister for Political Affairs Maula Bakhsh Chandio reached an agreement with Shia leaders after which they called off the nationwide protests. Talking to reporters, Kaira said all valid demands of the Hazara community had been accepted and four culprits had been killed in the targeted operation conducted on Monday. He said detailed discussions were held on issues like community policing‚ compensation to the heirs of the martyrs‚ employment to their children and rehabilitation of affected families and maintenance of durable peace. He said the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen would nominate a three-member committee to remain in contact with the officials concerned to ensure following up of the understanding. ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY: The agreement was, however, rejected by the families of the victims who refused to bury their loved ones until their demand of army deployment was accepted. Despite heavy rain and cold weather, the protesting Hazaras continued with their sit-in protest, prompting Shias in other parts of the country to return to the roads in a show of solidarity with their community in Quetta. The protesters’ demand at all these places was the same: Call in the army in Quetta and take immediate action against the banned terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which in recent months has played havoc with Shias, mainly the peaceful Hazara community of Balochistan, through a string of attacks. The protesting Shias also refused to accept Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s assurance of a targeted operation against the terrorists and stuck to their demand of a mass scale army operation in the province. Thousands of Hazara Shias held their ground on Alamdar Road, where they have been camping for the last three days along with the bodies of at least 80 victims of Saturday’s deadly bombing. In the federal capital, hundreds of people blocked the Expressway, suspending traffic between twin cities and blocking route to the airport. In Lahore, Shia protesters blocked the entrance and exit roads of the Allama Iqbal International Airport and refused to allow people from entering or leaving the airport, and causing massive traffic jams on all access routes. The situation turned ugly when frustrated passengers and their families clashed with the protesters. Batons and punches were used freely by both sides but timely intervention by the police prevented serious damage. The Airport Security Force barricaded the entry and exit roads of the airport for security reasons while several international and local flights were cancelled. The protesting Shias refused to vacate the roads until their demand of army deployment in Quetta was accepted but after two hours of hectic negotiations they agreed to unblock one road for intending passengers. Another major sit-in was staged at Thokar Niaz Baig and all roads emerging from the area were closed for traffic until the filing of this report. Protests and sit-ins were also held in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other big and small cities across the country. TERRORISTS KILLED, ARRESTED: Local officials in Quetta announced earlier on Tuesday that security forces had killed four men and arrested seven, including an alleged mastermind of Saturday’s bombing in an “ongoing” raid on the edge of the city. Police said another 172 people had been rounded up in the past two days, including the provincial chief of extremist Sunni outfit Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, and they were now being questioned. In Lahore, intelligence agencies arrested the owner of Waris Chemicals in Lahore’s Akbari Mandi on the information of one Dad Muhammad, who was arrested in Quetta and is allegedly involved in the Kirani Road bombing. Intelligence sources told Pakistan Today in Lahore that Muhammad had bought 2,000 kilogrammes of Potassium and Phosphorous in the last two months from Waris Chemicals and the same material was used in the Quetta bombing, which is one of the biggest bombings in Pakistan.

IG BALOCHISTAN REPLACED:

In a related development, Prime Minster Ashraf ordered the transfer of Balochistan Police IG Tariq Omar Khatab and appointed Mushtaq Sukhaira in his stead. According to the spokesman, the decision had been made because Khatab had failed to control the law and order situation in the province.