QUETTA - Members of the Hazara community late on Tuesday night agreed to end their protest sit-in in the city following talks with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, reported private TV channels, quoting sources.
According to the TV channels, the talks were successful after detailed talks on the issue of target killing of Hazara people in the city.
Director General of ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Commander Southern Command Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti were also part of the meeting.
On Monday night, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal had visited a protest camp set up outside the Balochistan Assembly. He had held talks with provincial minister Syed Agha Raza who was leading the protest against unabated killings of members of the Hazara community. The protesters, however, had refused to end their protest until the army chief visited them.
Interior Minister Iqbal had expressed solidarity with the protesters over the killing of two Hazara men by terrorists. “In last five years, the situation has much improved with killings dropping from 215 in 2014 to 8. Our efforts will continue to bring it to zero,” he wrote on social media.
A protest by Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
Along with the sit-in outside the assembly, a hunger strike was also being staged by Hazara community women outside the Quetta Press Club. Social activist Advocate Jalila Haider was leading the strike. The protesters were demanding an immediate end to the targetting of Hazara community members and arrest of culprits involved in the heinous acts.
Jalila Haider has been on hunger strike since April 28th in order to bring attention to the killing of Hazaras. In a viral video Haider had challenged the army chief to come and “face the widows” of Hazara men who had been target killed for their faith. She said she will continue the hunger strike until the army chief came in civil clothes and met the members of the tiny community.
On Tuesday an ISPR spokesperson announced that Army Chief General Bajwa had arrived in Quetta to assess the security situation and meet with notables of the Hazara community.
Earlier in the day, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen‘s Raza and other leaders refused to end their protest until the visit of Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“We will not compromise on our demands and security. We will continue to hold the sit-in here in front of the assembly,” said Raza.
A shutdown was observed in some parts of Quetta against the frequent killings of the Hazara community members while a protest rally was taken out by the Hazara Democratic Party led by Ahmed Ali Kohzad.
During the day, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti held talks with the HDP protesters and assured them that all-out efforts were being made to protect citizens.
Bizenjo said terrorists were attempting to ignite sectarian violence in Quetta by killing innocent Hazara people. Their nefarious designs would be foiled with the help and cooperation of the people, the chief minister said, adding that security forces were conducting operations and arresting militants. “We have apprehended and killed many terrorists including suicide bombers,” he added.