• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Shias sit-in continues in Quetta

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Jan 13, IRNA -- The sit-in of Hazara Shia community entered second day as they refused to bury the dead of Thursday's bombings, till the army takes control of Quetta, local media reported on Saturday.

The members of Shia community braved cold and rain as they sat in Quetta streets with coffins.The death toll from Thursday's three blasts rose to 104 after nine more people died of their.

Government officials held negotiations with leaders of the Hazara community and requested them to end the protest and bury the bodies, but they refused to do so.

'The protest will continue until Quetta is handed to the army,' said Hashim Mousavi, one of the organizers. 'The government is either incapable of bringing the situation under control or does not want to do anything,' he added.

Three days of mourning have been announced in Balochistan province after the blasts, the deadliest of bombings in Pakistan in recent years.

Also on Saturday, the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) took out a protest rally in Quetta against terrorist attacks in the city.

Participants of the rally held banners and placards condemning the recent unrest in Balochistan, including incidents of targeted killings, bomb blasts and other unrest.

The rally took various roads and routes and concluded near the office of Inspector General Balochistan Police.

The protesters said the provincial government had failed in establishing peace and law and order in the city and demanded that Quetta be handed over to the army.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf called Governor Balochistan Zulfikar Magsi and the two discussed the situation in Quetta in the wake of the multiple blasts.

The premier, in his call, directed the provincial governor to take all steps necessary to ensure the protection of the citizens' lives and properties.

He added that the federal government was ready to assist the provincial government to ensure the citizen's security.

Prime Minister Ashraf moreover said that those wounded in the wake of the attacks should be treated with maximum care.

**1771
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 80496095