======================== Live Streaming of Quetta Dharna Watch Live Coverage of Quetta Sit-in. Click here: http://shiamuslimsfb.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/live-streaming-of-quetta-dharna.html ================== Pakistan Shi'ites watch over 96 bomb dead for second night inShare0Share this Email Print Related NewsPakistani Shi'ite keep second night of vigil over 96 bomb victims Sat, Jan 12 2013 Shi'ite leader challenges Pakistan army chief over attacks Fri, Jan 11 2013 Kashmir violence could turn "ugly": Pakistani Islamist Fri, Jan 11 2013 Rights group warns Pakistan faces worsening sectarian violence Fri, Jan 11 2013 Death toll from string of bombings in Pakistan reaches 114 Thu, Jan 10 2013Analysis & OpinionShi’ite leader challenges Pakistani army chief over Sunni sectarian attacks LoC gunfights: Is a third-party probe the way ahead? Related TopicsWorld » Middle East Turmoil » 1 of 2. Members of the Hazara community and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) sit-in during a protest against last Thursday's twin bomb attack in Quetta, in Lahore January 12, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Mohsin Raza By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan | Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:07pm EST QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Talks between Pakistani officials and Shi'ite leaders on Saturday failed to quell a protest that brought thousands onto cold, wet streets for a second night to watch over the bodies of 96 people killed in one of Pakistan's worst sectarian attacks. Leaders of the Shi'ite Hazaras, the ethnic group that was the target of Friday's twin bombings in the provincial capital Quetta, were vowing not to bury their dead until authorities promised to protect them from a wave of sectarian attacks. Around 2,000 people spent Friday night keeping vigil at the site of the bombings - claimed by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Sunni militant group - spreading plastic sheets over the shrouded bodies to keep the rain off them. By Saturday, the number had swelled to around 5,000. Muslim tradition requires that bodies are buried as soon as possible and leaving them above ground is a powerful expression of grief and pain. A government delegation led by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah met Shi'ite leaders late on Saturday after they complained about what they believe is the indifference of most Pakistani politicians to their plight. Qayyum Changazi, chairman of the Yakjehti Council, a national alliance of predominantly Shi'ite organizations, said the talks had produced no result and the protest would continue until the army took over Quetta and the Balochistan provincial government was dismissed. The Balochistan chief minister was in Dubai and unavailable for comment. FIRES AGAINST THE COLD As the sky darkened, protesters wrapped up in heavy coats and shawls and burned small coal fires to keep warm. Many held candles and some wept next to the coffins of their relatives. Small protests were also held in the cities of Lahore, Karachi and the capital, Islamabad, where around 200 protesters held candles and placards demanding an end to attacks on Shi'ites, who make up 20 percent of Pakistan's population. Parliamentarian Bushra Gohar from the Awami National Party (ANP) was the only prominent politician attending the protest in the capital. She said there were several reasons why officials had been slow to respond: support for militants, fear or indifference. "It could be pure callousness," she said. "Many political parties also support these groups. They are proxies." Security policy in Pakistan is dominated by the army, which denies accusations that it retains ties to militant groups, in part to counter the influence of India. The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which has seen some of its own senior politicians gunned down, has often been unwilling to speak out against militants for fear of being targeted. (Writing and additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Myra MacDonald and Kevin Liffey) =============== Shi'ite leader challenges Pakistan army chief over attacks Fri, Jan 11 09:07 AM EST 1 of 11 By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - In a rare challenge, a Shi'ite Muslim leader publicly criticized Pakistani military chief General Ashfaq Kayani over security in the country on Friday after bombings targeting the minority sect killed 118 people. The criticism of Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in the South Asian state, highlighted Shi'ite frustrations with Pakistan's failure to contain Sunni Muslim militant groups who have vowed to wipe out Shi'ites. "I ask the army chief: What have you done with these extra three years you got (in office)? What did you give us except more death?" Maulana Amin Shaheedi, who heads a national council of Shi'ite organizations, told a news conference. Most of Thursday's deaths were caused by twin attacks aimed Shi'ites in the southwestern city of Quetta, near the Afghan border, where members of the minority have long accused the state of turning a blind eye to Sunni death squads. Shi'ite leaders were so outraged at the latest bloodshed that they called for the military to take control of Quetta to shield them and said they would not allow the 85 victims of twin bomb attacks to be buried until their demands were met. The burials had been scheduled to take place after Friday prayers but the bodies would remain in place until Shi'ites had received promises of protection. Shaheedi said scores of bodies were still lying on a road. "They will not be buried until the army comes into Quetta." Violence against Pakistani Shi'ite is rising and some communities are living in a state of siege, a human rights group said on Friday. "Last year was the bloodiest year for Shias in living memory," said Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch. "More than 400 were killed and if yesterday's attack is any indication, it's just going to get worse." A suicide bomber first targeted a snooker club in Quetta. A car bomb blew up nearby 10 minutes later after police and rescuers had arrived. In all, 85 people were killed and 121 wounded. Nine police and 20 rescue workers were among the dead. "It was like doomsday. Bodies were lying everywhere," said police officer Mir Zubair Mehmood. The banned Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the attack in what is a predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood where the residents are ethnic Hazaras, Shi'ites who first migrated from Afghanistan in the 19th century. While U.S. intelligence agencies have focused on al Qaeda and the Taliban, Pakistani intelligence officials say LeJ is emerging as a graver threat to Pakistan, a nuclear-armed, strategic ally of the United States. It has stepped up attacks against Shi'ites across the country but has zeroed in on members of the sect who live in resource-rich Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is capital. The paramilitary Frontier Corps is largely responsible for security in Baluchistan province but Shi'ites say it is unable or unwilling to protect them from the LeJ. "STATE OF SIEGE" The LeJ wants to impose a Sunni theocracy by stoking Sunni-Shi'ite violence. It bombs religious processions and shoots civilians in the type of attacks that pushed countries like Iraq towards civil war. The latest attacks prompted an outpouring of grief, rage and fear among Shi'ites, many of whom have concluded that the state has left them at the mercy of the LeJ and other extremist groups who believe they are non-Muslims. "The LeJ operates under one front or the other, and its activists go around openly shouting 'infidel, infidel, Shi'ite infidel' and 'death to Shi'ites' in the streets of Quetta and outside our mosques," said Syed Dawwod Agha, a top official with the Baluchistan Shi'ite Conference. "We have become a community of grave diggers. We are so used to death now that we always have shrouds ready." The roughly 500,000-strong Hazara people in Quetta, who speak a Persian dialect, have distinct features and are an easy target, said Dayan of Human Rights Watch. "They live in a state of siege. Stepping out of the ghetto means risking death," said Dayan. "Everyone has failed them - the security services, the government, the judiciary." Earlier on Thursday, a separate bomb killed 11 people in Quetta's main market. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for that blast. The group is one of several fighting for independence for Baluchistan, an arid, impoverished region with substantial gas, copper and gold reserves. Baluchistan constitutes just less than half of Pakistan's territory and is home to about 8 million of the total population of 180 million. In another attack on Thursday, in Mingora, the largest city in the Swat valley in the northwest, at least 22 people were killed when an explosion targeted a public gathering of residents who had come to listen to a religious leader. No one claimed responsibility for that bombing. Swat has been under army rule since a military offensive ejected Pakistani Taliban militants in 2009. The LeJ has had historically close ties to elements in the security forces, who see the group as an ally in any potential war with neighboring India. Security forces deny such links. In a measure of the outrage, several Pakistani social media users posted Facebook comments urging the U.S. to expand its covert programme of drone warfare beyond Taliban strongholds on the Afghan border to target LeJ leaders in Baluchistan. Among the dead in Quetta was Khudi Ali, a young activist who often wore a T-shirt with fake bloodstains during protests against the rising violence against Shi'ites. Ali's Twitter profile said: "I am born to fight for human rights and peace." (Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Katharine Houreld in Islamabad and Matthew Green in Lahore.; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mark Heinrich) ============ Quetta suffers its deadliest day with 93 killed in three blasts By Web Desk / Mohammad Zafar Published: January 10, 2013 A vehicle of the volunteer rescue services Edhi foundation lies destroyed next to buildings that collapsed following a car bomb. PHOTO: AFP . QUETTA: Three blasts in Quetta on Thursday left 93 dead and many with serious injuries. The blasts took place in Shahrah-e-Iqbal and Alamdar Road area. The second and third blasts were suicide blasts at a snooker club on Alamdar Road. The government has announced three days of mourning over the tripple blasts in the city on Thursday. The government has also announced Rs1 million as compensation for heirs of victims. Alamdar Road blast Later in the evening, a suicide bomber exploded himself at a snooker club on Alamdar Road, Bomb Disposal Squad said. As rescue workers, police and media personnel descended on the scene, a second set of timed explosives planted in a vehicle went off. CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair said at least 81 people were killed and as many as 121 people were injured in these blasts. The injured have been shifted to Combined Military Hospital. At least 50 of the injured are described to be in critical condition. “The whole four-storey building of the snooker club collapsed due to the huge impact of the blast. The snooker club was located in the basement of the building,” DIG Investigation Hamid Shakeel told The Express Tribune. The dead include DSP Quaidabad, SHO Quaidabad Jaffar Khan among nine policemen. A private channel’s cameraman Imran Shaikh and reporter Saifur Rehman Baloch also lost their lives along with a news agency’s photographer. Four rescue volunteers of the Edhi service were also killed. Senior Superintendent of Police, Quaidabad, also sustained serious injuries in the blast. Quetta police and BDS have arrived at the blast site and cordoned off the area. Rescue work is still underway with heavy machinery requested for clearing debris at the site. Power supply in the city has been disrupted after the incident. Banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhanvi called news offices to claim responsibility for the attack. Shahrah-e-Iqbal blast At least 12 people were killed and 27 others were injured when a blast ripped through the Baacha Khan Chowk area of Shahrah-e-Iqbal, a senior police official said. The Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed the death toll, adding that details regarding the bomb attack would be divulged after further investigation. Witnesses said children and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were among those injured. This is the third blast in the same area which houses a shopping plaza and a market and is generally a busy area. The police, FC, bomb disposal squad (BDS) and rescue teams reached the scene, cordoning off the area and shifting the injured to hospitals. 20 to 25kg explosives were reportedly used in the bomb. Express News correspondent Irfan Rana reported a two to three-foot deep crater where the blast occurred. Thirteen cars, including FC vehicles, were damaged in the blast. ================= String of bombings kill 101, injure 200 in Pakistan Thu, Jan 10 15:46 PM EST 1 of 2 By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities on Thursday in one of the country's bloodiest days in recent years, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in Quetta. The bombings underscored the myriad threats Pakistani security forces face from homegrown Sunni extremist groups, the Taliban insurgency in the northwest and the less well-known Baloch insurgency in the southwest. On Thursday evening, two coordinated explosions killed at least 69 people and injured more than 100 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, said Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil. The first attack, in a crowded snooker hall, was a suicide bombing, local residents said. About ten minutes later, a car bomb exploded, they said. Five policemen and a cameraman were among the dead from that blast. The attacks happened in a predominately Shia neighborhood and banned sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility. The extremist Sunni group targets Shias, who make up about 20 percent of Pakistani's population. Targeted killings and bombings of Shia communities are common in Pakistan, and rights groups say hundreds of Shia were killed last year. Militant groups in Balochistan frequently bomb or shoot Shia passengers on buses travelling to neighboring Iran. The killers are rarely caught and some Shia activists say militants work alongside elements of Pakistan's security forces, who see them as a potential bulwark against neighboring India. Many Pakistanis fear their nation could become the site of a regional power struggle between Saudi Arabia, source of funding for Sunni extremist groups, and Iran, which is largely Shia. But sectarian tensions are not the only source of violence. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for a blast in Quetta's market earlier in the day. It killed 11 people and injured more than 40, mostly vegetable sellers and secondhand clothes dealers, police officer Zubair Mehmood said. A child was also killed. The group is one of several fighting for independence for Balochistan, an arid, impoverished region with substantial gas, copper and gold reserves, which constitutes just under half of Pakistan's territory and is home to about 8 million of the country's population of 180 million. SWAT BOMBING In another incident Thursday, 21 were killed and more than 60 injured in a bombing when people gathered to hear a religious leader speak in Mingora, the largest city in the northwestern province of Swat, police and officials at the Saidu Sharif hospital said. "The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition and we are receiving more and more injured people," said Dr. Niaz Mohammad. It has been more than two years since a militant attack has claimed that many lives in Swat. The mountainous region, formerly a tourist destination, has been administered by the Pakistani army since their 2009 offensive drove out Taliban militants who had taken control. But Talibans retain the ability to attack in Swat and shot schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousufzai in Mingora last October. A Taliban spokesman said they were not responsible for Thursday's bombing. (Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jason Webb) =================================== 22 killed, 47 injured in Swat bomb blast By Web Desk / Fazal Khaliq / Reuters Published: January 10, 2013 Inside the Tableeghi Markaz, the site of the blast which killed 19 people. PHOTO: FAZAL KHALIQ/EXPRESS . SWAT: At least 22 people were killed and 47 injured in a blast in the Mingora city of Swat district on Thursday, confirmed officials at Saidu Sharif Hospital. The explosion took place at the main Tableeghi Markaz (preaching centre) located on the Takht Band Road. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson and police termed the blast as a gas cylinder explosion. According to eyewitnesses, people were getting ready for their preaching session when a gas cylinder in the kitchen of the Markaz exploded. Additional eyewitness say it may have been a suicide blast. “After the explosion, people started running frantically while some ran to the spot of the explosion to rush the injured to the hospital,” a person told The Express Tribune. Police initially said the blast was caused by an exploding gas cylinder but later police chief Akhtar Hayat confirmed it was a bomb. Rahman Ali, a medical practitioner in Saidu Group of Hospitals, said that more than 50 injured people were brought to the hospital where 10 critically injured succumbed to their injuries. =========================== Qadri will not be allowed to hold rally in Islamabad's Blue Area: Rehman Malik By Web Desk Published: January 10, 2013 A file photo of Interior Minister Rehman Malik during a press conference. PHOTO: PID / FILE ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said he will not allow Tahirul Qadri or anyone else to hold a rally in Islamabad’s Blue Area, Express News reported on Thursday. While speaking to the media, Malik said 60 to 70 area representatives met him and requested that no rally should be held in the area. He said allowing a rally in the area will negatively affect the residents and business activities. Malik assured the people of Islamabad that no party will be allowed to organise a gathering in the said sector. Minhajul Quran Interntaional (MQI) chief Qadri had announced to lead a “million-man” march to Islamabad against the current system if it fails to fix things before January 14. Malik asked Qadri to accept the requests of the residents of Islamabad if he calls himself the people’s representative. The interior minister accused MQI supporters of asking people for “bhatta” and to take part in the long march. =================== Violence: Two PPP activists among 11 killed in Karachi on Thursday By Web Desk / Our Correspondent Published: January 10, 2013 Two PPP activists also killed in the city. PHOTO: FILE KARACHI: Violence blitzed through Karachi on Thursday with 11 people being killed in various incidents in the city. At least seven people were killed in an attack on Nadir hotel in Sohrab goth area, near Superhighway in of Karachi, Express News reported. The police are still investigating the matter. In addition to the attack in Sohrab goth, two activists of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were killed in North Karachi on Thursday in what police said was an attack by gangsters. Abdul Ghani and Naeem Ahmed, both in their 20s, were shot at multiple times at a PPP local office near Anda Mor, police said. “According to eyewitness accounts and other information gleaned from the area, the attackers were part of a gang which runs a narcotics ring in the nearby Pakhtunabad locality,” said SP Salman Hussain. Police said nine of the bullets were fired from 9mm pistols by four men who had come on two bikes. Earlier on Thursday, work at lower courts was suspended after a staff member was killed in what police says could be another sectarian killing in the volatile city, which has been in grip of tit-for-tat murders for months. Bashir Khan, a stenographer at the District and Sessions Judge Central’s court, was shot dead by two unidentified men who intercepted him near the Lucky Star intersection while he was on way to the city courts, police said. “Two shooters, both wearing helmets, were on a bike. They pumped four bullets into Khan,” said DSP Zameer Abbasi. “We have already investigated different aspects and most probable cause seems to be sectarian.” Khan, who was in his 50s, lives in Jet Lines area where he was associated with a mosque, he said. “But he was a peaceful man. His association went just as far as Tableegi rounds.” Soon after news of his killing reached the lower courts, staff came out in protest. One of Khan’s colleagues said, that it was not in victim’s nature to confront anyone. “I doubt if this could have happened because of his dealing with cases at the courts.” ============== PKNews_1st Karachi Update: Super Highway Pr Firing se 7 Janbahaq Afrad ka Taluq Bajour Agency Se ha, Ye Loog D7 Bus Stop Par dere Par Behte Thy. Geo_Today #Karachi, Orangi Town Jauhar Chowk G Ali Resturant Pr firing se 1 Shaks zakhmi * Super Highway Bela mandi K Qarib SULTAN Firing se Zakhmi awami_news258 Karachi me firing near Gulberg FB Area near Shams College, one killed # Karachi bilawal rais yousuf ================ Triple blasts rip through Quetta By Web Desk / Mohammad Zafar Published: January 10, 2013 security personnel examine the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta. PHOTO: AFP . QUETTA: Three blasts in Quetta on Thursday left 54 dead and many with serious injuries. The blasts took place in Shahrah-e-Iqbal and Alamdar Road area. The second and third blasts took place near an imambargah. Shahrah-e-Iqbal blast At least 12 people were killed and 27 others were injured when a blast ripped through the Baacha Khan Chowk area of Shahrah-e-Iqbal, a senior police official said. The Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed the death toll, adding that details regarding the bomb attack would be divulged after further investigation. Witnesses said children and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were among those injured. This is the third blast in the same area which houses a shopping plaza and a market and is generally a busy area. The police, FC, bomb disposal squad (BDS) and rescue teams reached the scene, cordoning off the area and shifting the injured to hospitals. 20 to 25kg explosives were reportedly used in the bomb. Express News correspondent Irfan Rana reported a two to three-foot deep crater where the blast occurred. Thirteen cars, including FC vehicles, were damaged in the blast. Alamdar Road blast Two more blasts took place near an imambargah on Alamdar Road. At least 45 people were killed and more than 100 sustained injuries in these blasts. The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals. Few of the injured are in critical condition. The dead include SP Khalid Masood and a private channel’s cameraman. Quetta police and BDS have arrived at the blast site and cordoned off the area. Power supply in the area has been disrupted after the incident. ========================= Twin explosions kill 70 in Pakistani city of Quetta: police Thu, Jan 10 13:31 PM EST 1 of 2 (Reuters) - Twin explosions killed at least 56 people in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Thursday evening, a police official said, hours after a bombing in Quetta's market killed 11. The death toll in the latest blasts could rise, according to Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil. The first explosion, in a snooker hall, appeared to be a suicide bombing, local residents said. About ten minutes later, a car bomb went off, they said, and five policemen and a cameraman were among the dead from that blast. (Reporting by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mark Heinrich) ============= zebiromio News: *Karachi. GULBERG FEDERAL B AREA Block 17 mein SIR SHAMS COLLEGIATE K Pas Firing Se 1 Shaks Janbahaq, CNG,Petrol Pump Aur Dukane Band ========== zebiromio News: *Karachi. Jama Cloth K Qareeb Firing Say Ek 4 Sala Bachi Samit 2 Afrad Zakhmi . ICI Pul Nalay Say Hath Pao Bandhi Lash Baramd ======== By Joris Fioriti COMMENT NOW! Afghan nomad clashes raise fears of ethnic strife Hazara tribesman MP Nasseri, who is fighting against nomadic Kuchis, poses during an interview with AFP in the Kajab Valley of Behsud district, Wardak province, on July 19. Bloody raids by nomads armed with machine guns and rocket launchers on villages ne Bloody raids by nomads armed with machine guns and rocket launchers on villages near Kabul are raising fears about a return to ethnic conflict in Afghanistan 18 months before NATO combat troops leave. For more than a century, ethnic Pashtuns known as Kuchis have wintered in the south and east where the weather is better, and migrated in the summer to let their herds graze in the cooler north. But a land dispute between the Kuchis and the settled ethnic Hazaras dating back 130 years has since 2005 disintegrated into seasonal violence in the Kajab valley west of the capital. With NATO forces due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, there are fears that the country could slide back to the chaos seen in the 1990s, when ethnically aligned factions fought a bloody civil war. From the early 1990s to 2001 fighting between the Pashtun-dominated Taliban and Hazaras led to tens of thousands of deaths, particularly on the Hazara side. "Afghans have suffered a lot in internal and mainly ethnic wars in the past, and this problem, if left unsolved could hurt the volatile national unity among Afghans even further," said author and analyst Waheed Mujda. In early June, up to 2,000 Kuchi nomads swept into Kajab, according to residents and local officials, ransacking several villages and burning hundreds of buildings. Most of the valley's population of ethnic Hazaras, who are also part of the Shiite Muslim minority, fled. According to villagers, the Kuchis killed four Hazaras and seven soldiers. An Afghan Hazara tribesman poses with an antique rifle, for protection against attacks by nomadic Kuchis, in Kajab valley of Behsud district, Wardak province, on July 19. Two months on from the raid, Kajab looks like a post-apocalyptic wasteland dotted with gutted, fire-blackened mud buildings. "In each burnt home, there was a Koran. When the Americans set fire to them in the spring, the whole world cried out," said village elder Ewaz, 55. "But here, no one's said anything. Who are we? What have we done? We're also Muslims, aren't we." The madrassa in Dahane Gandob village was almost totally destroyed, apparently by rocket fire. The walls of the seminary's mosque are pockmarked with small-calibre bullet holes. A prayer room was saved, though the carpets were stolen. The village's two medical clinics were badly damaged -- the older one was completely destroyed and the other, which was not yet in service, is now unusable. Local authorities and villagers say there were Taliban among the Kuchi raiders, suggesting that the Pashtun-dominated insurgent group could be using the Kuchis to win land away from the government and its NATO allies. Afghan Hazara tribesmen look over the remains of their property on July 19, destroyed during a recent attack by nomadic Kuchis, in Kajab valley of Behsud district, Wardak province. Kajab is in Behsoud district of Wardak, a province dominated by Pashtuns where the local government denies what is widely assumed to be a strong Taliban presence. In neighbouring Uruzgan province last week, a Hazara local police commander reportedly rounded up and killed nine Pashtun civilians in revenge for the death of two local Hazaras. Authorities say the case is still under investigation. Behsoud lawmaker Ghulan Hussein Nasseri accused the government of President Hamid Karzai, himself a Pashtun, of discriminating against Hazaras and said they would defend themselves if they were not given protection. "The attacks of the nomads were under the support of the government," Nasseri said. He said he warned the national and provincial authorities the day before the attack and on the day itself, but claimed the army only arrived in Kajab five hours after the Kuchis left. Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman for the Wardak governor, blamed a lack of resources. "We don't have enough security forces in the area, although we have asked the central government to send us more, and even make a special force to control the Kuchis and Hazara brothers' conflict," he said. Afghan Hazara tribesmen gather on July 19 near the remains of their property, destroyed during a recent attack by nomadic Kuchis, in Kajab valley of Behsud district, Wardak province. The clashes stemmed from a "legal issue" which was beyond the remit of the provincial authorities and should be solved through judicial channels, he added. The nomads say they want to reclaim land given to them by a royal decree 130 years ago, which the settled communities have been living on for generations. Hazaras make up an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population. They suffered brutal persecution under the 1996-2001 Taliban rule, but have prospered since the 2001 US-led invasion. Elay Ershad, a Kuchi lawmaker, accused the Hazaras of initiating the violence. "Hazaras said they bought that land from the government, which is not true. Hazaras start to attack Kuchis. They have big fights," he said. A conflict also erupted last year in Laghman province, a Pashtun province east of Kabul, he said, arguing that giving the Kuchis their own land was the only solution. Many Kajab residents left for good after the violence in June, abandoning their farms in what is a very green and well-cultivated valley. "We voted for a government to protect the people. If they don't, I see a very dark future for this country," warned Nasseri. ============== Shia leaders call for army intervention after Quetta blasts By Reuters Published: January 11, 2013 Pakistani Shia Muslim mourners sit beside the coffins of blast victims at a mosque following overnight twin suicide bombings in Quetta on January 11, 2013. PHOTO: AFP QUETTA: Shia leaders called on the military on Friday to seize control of the provincial capital of Quetta to protect the Muslim minority after one of the worst sectarian attacks in the country’s history. Shia leaders also told Reuters they would not allow the 82 victims of two bomb attacks in Quetta on Thursday to be buried until their demands were met. A string of bombings left at least 93 people dead and over 150 wounded in one of the bloodiest days of violence that Balochistan has seen for years. A suicide bomber detonated the explosives inside a crowded snooker club on Alamdar Road, a Shia-dominated neighbourhood of Quetta. As soon as mediapersons, police and rescue officials reached the site, the second blast went off. Television channels counted the two explosions as suicide attacks. Most of the casualties were caused by the second blast. The bombings disrupted power supplies and plunged the Alamdar Road neighbourhood into darkness. The area is dominated by the Hazara community, who are Shias by sect. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the blast and said their target was the Hazara community. ======================= Thank You ARY for coming to #Karachi Press Club in solidarity with #WeAreAllHazara #QuettaSitIn bit.ly/Xr5Yra people are coming to join in the protest in front of #Karachi Press Club. #WeAreAllHazara #ShiaGenocide ================= people are coming to join in the protest in front of #Karachi Press Club. #WeAreAllHazara #ShiaGenocide ==============Oh no. Can someone verify? RT @arifcrafiq: Many on Twitter are saying that @khudiali was killed in today's Quetta blasts. Rest in peace...
— Raza Rumi (@Razarumi) January 10, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
+115 killed, 200 injured in Quetta-Swat bomb blasts, Qadri will not be allowed to hold rally in Islamabad's Blue Area: Rehman Malik
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