Army Asked To Take Over Balochistan Province To End Violence

Islamabad, Feb 19, IRNA – Majlis-e-Wehdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Deputy Secretary General Allama Amin Shaheedi has demanded that army would take over in Balochistan and put a stop to ongoing violence in the province, local media reported Monday. Shaheedi made the remark while addressing a press conference in Quetta that condemned Saturday’s deadly bombings that killed 80 people. He asked the army to take over the region and preserve peace and put an end to these killings. He demanded the security forces plan targeted operations on hiding places of suicide bombers and those who are responsible for sowing the seeds for sectarian violence. The official demanded the immediate arrest and trial of the culprits involved. He also blamed the government, saying that it had failed to maintain peace. He also wanted the government to allow the public to practice self-defence while remaining within constitutional limits. On Saturday, MWM and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) called for the strike in Quetta and various political and religious parties including Pashtunkhwa Map, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) backed it. The outlawed sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing. Meanwhile demanding an army operation against sectarian killers, the families of the victims of Quetta bombing have given 48-hour ultimatum to the government. The families have refused to bury the dead in protest and the bodies are placed in different imambargahs of the city. Quetta Police Chief Wazir Khan Nasir said, “We are going to resume negotiations with the Shiˈa community leaders this morning to convince them to bury the dead.” However the Shiˈa Leader Qayyum Changezi said the protesters “will not bury the dead until a targeted operation is launched”. Spokesman for an alliance of the Shiˈa groups Syed Muhammad Hadi also said, “We stand firm for our demands of handing over the city to army and carrying out targeted operation against terrorists and their supporters.” “We will not bury the bodies unless our demands are met.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also“strongly” condemned the bomb blast in Quetta, calling on authorities to act quickly against those responsible, his spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Noting that this is the second attack against the Shia community in Quetta in the last few weeks, Ban “calls for swift and determined action against those claiming responsibility and perpetrating such actions,” Nesirky said in a statement./end