Quetta carnage: Rights activists demand action against banned outfits

Published:The Express Tribune,July 2nd

A small crowd gathered outside the National Press Club holding placards condemning terrorist attacks in Quetta, Peshawar and North Waziristan which killed more than 50 people on Sunday. The protesters demanded action from the highest offices of the country. Women and children were among those protesting outside the press club for justice and peace. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sher Ali, a student and ethnic Hazara, was holding a placard stating, “I am from Hazara, am I not Pakistani?” He said he was visiting Islamabad and was saddened to hear about the incident, which is why he came to register his complaint. “I do not understand why the government is not taking any action against these militants…they have destroyed everything. We just want peace,” he said, wiping his tears. As Lashkar-e-Jhangvi accepts the responsibility of the blast in Quetta, protesters said that the chief justice of Pakistan must treat all communities and individuals as equals and must take suo motu notice of the incident. “There were the Shahzeb Khan and Malala cases. We are very happy that the chief justice stood up for them, but he must also stand up for us,” said Sara Ali from Hazara. Civil society members outraged at the gathering said groups like Lashkar-e Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammad are still terrorising innocent people and no one is trying to stop them. Dr Rakshanda Parveen told The Express Tribune that even civil society members are fed up. “We want answers now, it is a little too much to handle,” said Perveen. Insani-Huqooq-Ittehad (IHI), network of rights campaigners, demanded that the Prime Minister and interior minister carry out a strict action against these banned terrorist groups and put them on trial. In a statement, IHI demanded that the government carry out surgical operations on the banned militant organisations that are responsible for the “ethnic cleansing of Shia and Hazara minorities in Pakistan”.