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Hazaras are Living behind the Walls of Misfortunes in Baluchistan

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Hazaras are Living behind the Walls of Misfortunes  in Baluchistan

It is for many decades that Hazara people have been living in Pakistan. They have dedicated holy services in different areas of civil services and army forces. They are well known for their hard work, dedication to education and civilization. They mainly inhabit in Quetta, the capital city of Baluchistan which is a multi-cultural zone where many ethnic groups with different religious ideologies are living together.

There used to be no controversial issues and the civilians used to live in peace and friendly manners. But gradually, the security situation along with the political scenario kept on altering.

The people are no more viewing each other as brothers and communities during different occasions are being targeted. The people, particularly of the minority groups, are living in a state between fears of death and hope of life.

The scenario in Pakistan is quite distressing regarding such killings; the leaders instead of forming strategic solutions to get the state out of danger are more struggling to defend their seats. Viewing the round tables on Pakistani media, we can note nothing else except a sort of political war and participants of the talks have got nothing else rather than blaming each other. The state is burning in sectarian fire and the leaders are busy of campaigning for the safety of their seats. There are many parts of the country where civilians do not feel comfortable and free of death threats and every single minutes of civilians' life is passing in fear.

There are many cities of Pakistan where civilians are being killed as result of sectarian and ideological conflicts, but the case in Quetta is quite different. In Quetta, the only people who are viewed to be Shia are Hazara minority. The distinct physical appearance of these people makes them more vulnerable and easily distinguishable.

The religious extremist assailants on different occasions have selectively targeted the members of Hazara minority since 1998, the start of ethnic cleansing of Hazara minority in Quetta, Baluchistan. Though there is no finger count figure available on hand regarding the causalities, but the figure of causalities since 1998 crosses eight hundred.

There are many families in Hazara community who have experienced the bitter flavor of losing their beloved members. There are families who have lost numbers of their family members as a result of collectively being targeted in a single minute of time. The situation of Hazara community in Quetta is over tolerance and it is even getting worse by the passage of a single day.

Waves of targeted attacks on minority communities such as Hazara ethnic group in Pakistan have raised questions about the nature of these crimes. Some analysts label them as a wave of sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis while others warn of a systematic targeting of this ethnic minority.

The blurred scene on the screen is confusing, because the government officials have been trying to label the incidents noting more than sectarian conflicts, but considering the attack scenes in Baluchistan where the members of Hazara ethnic minority are being selectively distinguished and slaughtered brutally is beyond sectarian conflicts. Because, it is not only Hazaras who believe in Shia sect. So, why are the Hazaras targeted only? And what is the Pakistani government doing to protect minority groups?

Despite the clarity of the scenes and claiming the responsibilities of the targeted attacks on Shia communities by the religious armed groups in the country such as Lashka –re-Jangavi and Sepah-e- Sahabeh, the security establishments of the country have not taken any practical initiations to protect the minorities yet.

The community was long being planned to be pushed behind the walls of misfortunes by targeting them during different occasions. The community had been experiencing frequent attacks during the era of 1998 to 2011, but the targeted attacks on this poor community crossed the normal range since May, 02, 2011, when the leading master mind of Al-Qaeda network (Osama bin Laden) was assassinated in Pakistan by US Special Forces.

Following his death, the LeJ spokesman from an unidentified location who identified himself as Ali Sher Haideri threatened to avenge the killing of their leader Osma bin Laden and the poor Hazara community members and localities were the first revenge attacks' victims.

The community has lost about 100 of their beloved members as a result of several attacks since May, 02, 2011. The victims of the incidents are mainly women, children, political leaders, civil service clerks, business men, students and teachers.

Since May, 02, 2011, there is no single day which is not the witness of Hazaras shedding tear for losing their beloved community members. The community after finger count of 30 days of resting in peace once again got the featured headlines of the Pakistani media. During the last two weeks, the community has lost around thirteen innocent beloved members as the result of different targeted attacks.

Recently, there has been reported that as a result of targeted attacks on a local bus, seven vegetable vendors from Hazara community while returning to their localities from vegetable market have been selectively lined up and shot dead by terrorists at Hazar-Ganji area on Saturday, Sep 01, 2012. Saturday's attack was the third targeted attacks on Hazara community members during the last two weeks, after a month of giving them a chance of resting in peace.

Sectarian and ideological conflicts have long featured the top headlines of Pakistani media. Sectarian insurgencies have long been burning minorities such as Hazara community in fire and unfortunately there has not been any initiation taken by government to protect this poor community.

The failing security arrangements have created fear among the civilians in Pakistan, especially in Baluchistan province which has witnessed several attacks that have killed thousands of innocent people up to now. The targeted attacks are particularly done against the minority groups.

Despite worldwide demonstrations against the insurgencies in the country, the government of Pakistan has not taken any practical action yet to protect its civilians. The province is burring in sectarian violence, this is what most of the civilians have been reporting to the media but it seems like the civilian voice is falling in deaf ears and there has been no government official raising voice to pressurize the state's security establishments for taking action.

Abbas Ali Sultani is the permanent writer of Daily Outlook Afghanistan and Undergraduate Student in American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). Your opinions are welcomed at ali.ccna@hotmail.com

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