In an attack that is believed to have targeted Hazaras at a vegetable Market in Quetta last week, 24 people were killed and dozens injured.
The capital city of Baluchistan province, Quetta, is home for over half a million Hazara people.
Hazaras, who are mainly Shia Muslims, have been frequently targeted in such attacks since 1999, says Victorian Afghan Associations Network president Nazir Yousufi.
Mr Yousufi who has watched the situation of the Hazara people in Quetta closely, accuses Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of supporting Islamic extremist groups and using them against minority groups such as the Hazaras.
Pakistani police officials inspect the site of the attack at a fruit market in Quetta on April 12, 2019. Source: Getty Images
“Pakistan’s ISI has been supporting extremist groups since Pakistan was created,” he says. “How they can’t protect a small city like Quetta?”
The attack took place three days after the government released Ramazan Mengal, a senior leader of sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, after he spent three months in jail.
The group has worked closely with Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups and claimed the responsibility of several deadly attacks against the Hazaras.
Community members gathered in Melbourne to mourn and pray for the victims of the latest terror attack on the Hazara minority in Quetta. Source: Supplied
Mr Yousufi says in 20 years about 2000 Hazaras have lost their lives in these target attacks.
About 70 Hazara men, women and children, and members of the Sikh community held a candlelight vigil and prayers gathering for the victims of the attack in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
The Sikh community provided dinner to the participants.
“For two centuries we have been persecuted, either in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran — Hazaras have been persecuted all around the globe,” says organizer and president of community organization United Cultural Support Sadia Ali.
Sikh community also participated in the candlelight vigil gathering and provided dinner to the participants. Source: Supplied
“Nowhere in the world can we feel safe,” she says.
Amnesty International has strongly condemned the attack and called on Pakistan’s government to protect the Hazara community.
“This horrific loss of life is a painful reminder of the threats that Quetta’s Hazara community continues to face,” said the organisation’s Deputy South Asia Director Omar Waraich.
Hazaras have been frequently targeted in Pakistan. Source: Supplied
