Balochistan: Revisiting the Alamdar Road Tragedy

By Asif Magsi

Today 10th January, marks the first anniversary of Alalmdar Road Quetta blast in which as many as 106 people were killed while around 1970 remained injured in a twin blast. The blast took place at a snooker hall when at about 8:50 p.m. a suicide bomber blew up himself inside the snooker hall.

After the first blast, people from all walks of life i.e. Civil society, Police, media men and the rescue teams, reached the scene to help and rescue young boys who were present in the snooker hall. Within ten minutes, a second blast took place near the snooker hall as a remote control bomb fixed in a car exploded. The second blast mainly targeted those who had gone to rescue and assist the victims of the earlier blast. As a result, the second blast killed aid workers, security personnel, journalists and all those who had rushed at the scene to help the victims of first blast.

The blast on Alamdar Road, Quetta, left many families in grief as most of the victims were young people aging between 14 to 25 years. The relentless wave of sectarian violence that had targeted Hazara Shia Muslims in Balochistan has taken away many sons, brothers and fathers from Hazara Shia Muslim community in Quetta.

Among these mothers is Saeeda Bibi who lost her eldest son Irfan Ali aka Khudi, a young man who worked as a community activist and was married a year and half ago. Khudi, like the rest of the people, had gone to snooker hall to help the victims of first blast. But, unfortunately he himself became the victim of the second blast and lost his life while rescuing the victims of first blast.

One of the second blast victims included SAMAA News journalist Saif Baloch who had reached the scene for coverage but went on missing for many hours after second blast. Later on, it was learnt that he had succumbed to injuries at Quetta’s Combined Military Hospital.

Many mothers, such as Saeeda Bibi, have lost their beloved sons because of the unabated sectarian war in Quetta while many others have been compelled to leave their homes, jobs and careers to move to safer places. There are also those who could not afford to leave Quetta but are stranded today within the confines of the boundary walls of Hazara- dominated towns in Quetta. Today after a year, the families of the Alamdar Road twin blasts are unsure if the killers of their loved ones would ever be brought to justice.

Malik Siraj Akber, the US-based editor of Balochistan’s first online English newspaper The Baloch Hal, said in and interview with Al-Jazeera English, “the Pakistani government has not had a policy of countering sectarianism in the southwestern region, which is the base for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and other Sunni armed groups”.

Akbar said the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which claimed responsibility for the twin blasts, is an offshoot or supporter of the Taliban. “The LeJ wants the Shias in Balochistan to either convert into Sunni Islam or leave Balochistan and Pakistan,” he said.

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi openly operates in Balochistan and routinely carries out attacks on Hazara Shia Muslims. In some cases, it stopped buses full of Shia pilgrims, brought the passengers down and shot them after establishing their identity as Hazaras or Shias. The LeJ has also killed hundreds of Shia, Hazaras in numerous suicide bomb blasts in Quetta.

Whether it is dictatorship, democracy or governor’s rule, the Hazara Shia Muslim community has suffered for the last 13 years although the Hazaras are widely recognized as a very peaceful community. In spite of repeated attacks and the barbaric killing of innocent Hazaras, each attack is responded by the community with absolutely peacefully protests while carrying the dead bodies of their loved ones in front of the Governor’s House, Chief Minister House or the Balochistan Assembly. Unfortunately, their quest for justice has not been positively responded by the government. Last year, it was deeply heartbreaking to see some of the protesters carrying only the remaining parts of the bodies of their beloveds in blood freezing temperatures on Quetta roads seeking justice.

During the past 13 years, more than 1200 people of Hazara, Shia community have been brutally killed and more than 3500 injured and paralyzed for life time.

Not all the Hazaras are Shia but most of them are. They can be easily be recognized because of their distinctive facial features, making it easier for the attackers to identify and target them. Concerning the security situation and targeted attacks on Hazaras, members of the community have been compelled to take a number of preventive measures at the cost of restricting their movement.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (H.R.C.P.), some years ago there were around 250 Hazara students at the University of Balochistan in Quetta. But that number has dramatically declined and now one can hardly find one or two Hazara students in the entire university. Of the 11 Hazara faculty members, all of them have left.

In the wake of the prevailing fear among the Hazaras, many of them are seeking asylum in other countries. Many take serious risks to travel illegally by sea in risky boats to get to foreign countries. In some incidents, a number of asylum seekers died when their boats capsized. Despite all hardships, around 6,000 Hazaras have left for Australia.