Members of a Hazara community light candles for peace against sectarian attacks in Quetta February 15, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS

QUETTA: A large number of Hazaras have taken to the streets to protest against the ruthless killings of their community members.



The protest started soon after a targeted attack on a taxi near Meezan Chowk on April 1. The gun assault left one dead and another seriously injured. The protest, which began soon after the incident, was participated by many labourers, taxi drivers as well as members of Hazara trade union and Taraqi Pasand Youth Organisation.



The recent protest sit-in on Alamdar Road saw active participation of citizens representing Hazara tribe, including women, children and the elderly.



Jalela Advocate, who has been active in the sit-in for the last five days, told The Express Tribune that the people of Hazara were aspirants of a peaceful Balochistan and a peaceful Pakistan.



"We want a Pakistan where citizens have equal rights," he said, adding that members of the Hazara community were being subjected to targeted attacks for the past two decades.



Over 20,000 people have been killed in the attacks that targeted hardworking labourers such as vegetable vendors and taxi drivers.



As the Hazaras were being subjected to merciless treatment and oppression, the protesters demanded of the authorities to immediately control targeted killings.



Muhammad Hashim used to make his living by driving a taxi in various parts of Balochistan. However, the increasing number of incidents targeting his community restricted him from driving his taxi outside the limits of Alamdar Road and Hazara Town.



"We are holding this protest because we have been subjected to targeted killings for the past 20 years," said Hashim. "Our children remain afraid for our lives as when we leave for work in the morning we often get a call from our children to confirm if we survived the bomb blast they heard of on the news."



Hazara Action Committee Chairman Liaquat Ali said that the onslaught of targeted killings had forced members of the community to resettle in other parts of the country like Punjab and Islamabad, and sometimes in other countries also.



"Hazaras have been subjected to targeted killings since 1998 due to which over 400,000 community members have migrated to Europe, Australia and other island countries," he said, lamenting that the authorities did not contact the protesters even after eight days of the sit-in.



"Our sit-in is not being held on any political grounds," he said. "We just want a peaceful Balochistan free of ethnic and religious conflicts because Quetta's peace depends on Balochistan's peace.”



Baloch and Pashtun parties' leaders participated in the protest and tribal leaders from all over the province delivered messages of unity.



Tribal leader Nawabzada Haji Lashkri Raesani said, “Increase in the number of incidents of terrorism is a challenge for the state.”



For the dream of a peaceful Balochistan to materialise, politicians should unite against the ongoing oppression in the province.



He said that their support and sympathy was with all those families that were affected by incidents of terrorism.



According to the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) report, during 46 incidents of target killing and bomb blasts in Quetta from January 2012 to December 2017, up to 525 were killed while 734 were injured.



During that time period, more than 200 people of the Hazara community were killed in only two suicide bomb attacks.



NCHR, Balochistan member Fazeelia Aliani said, “After continuous terror attacks, the Hazara community has been restricted to Mureeabad, Alamdar Road and Hazara Town. Their children are deprived of education while the trade community is also getting affected.”



However, Hazara Democratic Party's Bostan Ali Kashmund said that the number of people who died in the terrorism incidents was way more than what was stated in the report.



For security of the Hazara community, 19 platoons of Frontier Corps (FC) were deployed in Mureeabad and Hazara Town. Other than this, officers of the law enforcement agencies provided security to visitors travelling from Quetta to Taftan.