(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Five Shia Muslims were killed in a suspected sectarian attack in the capital of southwestern Balochistan province Sunday, police said.
Gunmen opened fire on a group of people sitting at a shop in a market in Quetta city that left five dead, city police chief Abdul Razzak Cheema told reporters.
Hundreds of people from the Hazara community protested the incident and blocked Quetta's main circular road. Tires were burnt, while some protesters reportedly also pelted stones on moving traffic.
The deceased belonged to the Shia Hazara community, which has been the target of hardline Sunni militant groups, such as Lashkar-i-Jhangvi during the last one decade in Pakistan.
Sunni-majority Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence that has claimed thousands of lives in the last three decades.
Shias make up 10 per cent of the total 180 million population of Pakistan.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.