SMP lost three members in sectarian violence in Quetta
An eye witness report from Quetta Baluchistan
Pakistan has become a killing field of people from different communities in recent years, but one community that has suffered the most and has been singled out for target- killings are the Shia Hazaras.
When I entered into the Hazara town in Quetta to meet and offer condolences to the families of the deceased members of the SMP on behalf of SMP and CWI who was killed in two separate suicide bombings in January and February 2013,I felt the strong sense of fear and uncertainty in this once very peaceful area. The air was filled with grief and sorrow and every body was angry with the provincial government led by PPP. They just ended their sit-in with the dead bodied of their loved ones who were killed just few days ago. The agony and pain was visible on their faces. Sunny militant extremist group linked with Al-Qaeda called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LI) accept responsibility for the attacks against the peaceful Shia Hazara community. The Hazara community is under constant threat and living in fear for many years now. Three SMP members Ali Raza, Ali Hussain and Hassan Abbas were killed in these bombings not for their political ideas or activities but being members of Shia Hazara community present at the sight of bombings. Two were killed while they were sitting in a café when a suicide bomber blows him on a busy road. The third were killed when he was busy in shopping with his family in a very crowded market blown up by a powerful bomb. this crowded and busy market turned into a rubble. SMP lost its three loyal members who stood with us in very difficult situation. That is a big political and organizational set back for SMP in Baluchistan.
According to HRCP 2012 fact finding report, more than 800 Shia Hazaras had been killed since 1999. From 2008 to May 2012 at least 550 Hazaras had been killed under PPP led government. In the first three months of 2013, more than two hundred people had been killed and hundreds injured in three major suicide attacks. That is devastating considering that Hazaras are a population of around half a million (0.5 million). Thousands had been injured and around half of them rendered disabled for life. The number of sectarian attacks and clashes increased by 195% in 2012, compare to 2011, and the number of fatalities and the injured in these attacks by around 62% and 239%, respectively.
The Hazaras are a distinct ethnic group living mostly in Afghanistan and having a visible presence in Pakistan and Iran. Lately, a growing number of members of the community have settled in Western countries in search of security and livelihood. The Hazaras have traditionally faced persecution at the hands of some Afghan kings and rulers, primarily Amir Abdul Rehman Khan, and other ethnic groups due to sectarian and ethnic reasons. They were originally living in central Afghanistan, but many had to migrate to neighbouring countries, such as Iran and British India to escape the attacks. Hazara community gained a foothold in Quetta by serving in the British army and doing some other tough jobs. Soldiering has been part of Hazaras life and proportionally high number having been serving in both the Afghan and Pakistani armed forces.
According to Hazara academic and retired principal of prestigious Government General Musa College Quetta Cantonment Professor Nazir Hussain “Until recently the Hazaras lived in peace and had excellent ties with Pashtuns, Baluchs and other ethnic communities. It was during the General Zia-ul- Haq era that this policy of segregation brought a change in the situation. Now we are suffering from social anarchy and the Hazaras in particular are living in Jewish ghettoes”. When I spoke to Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Chairman Hazara Democratic Party, he explained the situation in these words “All this started in 2001 and reached to the peak in 2011-12. Doctors, Professors, students, businessmen and sportsmen have been targeted and killed. The motive behind these terror acts is simple- push Quetta into a hell of sectarian violence as all Hazaras in Quetta belong to the Shia sect. So far more than 1000 (one thousand) Hazaras have been killed. Most of our youth have been deprived of education; some of them have also started joining Shia religious elements. People have lost their businesses and jobs. They cannot move freely in their own city. More than thirty thousand (30,000) Hazara youth and professionals have already migrated out of country. Parents are forcing their sons to leave the country. Our PhDs and other highly qualified people are working as labourers and doing casual jobs in Australia and other Western countries. Our younger generation has started to lose hope of their future”.
Anti Shia sectarian outfits have a significant presence in Baluchistan. These outfits are pursuing their agendas with relative freedom compared to the nationalist insurgents and the Afghan Taliban. Anti Shia groups are well organized and have nexus with other religious extremist militant groups including Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al-Qaeda. Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) is the most active and lethal anti Shia group. LeJ operates in and around Quetta. The LeJ concentrated in Baluchistan and other parts of Pakistan after its terrorist camps in Kabul and Kandahar were destroyed when US forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
Jundullah is another active militant actor in Baluchistan, blending the religious sectarian agenda with a nationalist separatist ideology. It is an anti Shia and anti Iran militant outfit which operates in the Iranian province of Seistan-Baluchistan, bordering Pakistani districts of Chaghi, Kharan,Panjgur, Kech and Gwadar. The Number of Jundullah activists is estimated to be around 800.
These different anti Shia Sunny militant extremists groups have developed liaison and supporting each other in their activities. This is quite a dangerous and deadly liaison bringing more instability and anarchy to already violence ridden Baluchistan.
The target killings and atrocities are not just confined to the Shia Hazaras but people from other ethnic backgrounds including Punjabis have also been targeted. Thousands of Punjabis had been forced to leave Quetta and other areas of Baluchistan by the Baluch militant groups fighting for separation. It is not even safe for a Punjabi to go to many areas in the province. Even Hindus, Sindhis and Pashtuns have also been targeted in different parts of Baluchistan. In some cases no body knows why he was killed and who killed him. The different forces are pitched against each other in a turf war that is taking lives of ordinary people. The law enforcement agencies and the government have failed to protect innocent people from different militant groups both nationalist and religious sectarian ones. The situation in Baluchistan is very unstable and volatile. The civil war like situation has emerged in last few years.
The trade union movement in Quetta is still intact and fighting against sectarian and nationalistic divide. Despite the serious threats from the different armed militant groups, the trade unions organized a united May Day rally last year in which workers belonging to the different ethnic, sect and nationalities jointly march together on the main streets of Quetta in a clear show of class unity. One union leader told me that it is not easy to keep and maintain workers unity in this turbulence times. We are under immense pressure from all sides to take sides on sectarian, ethnic and nationalistic basis and to toe the line from different groups and organizations. We are fighting and will continue to fight to keep this unity among the working class. We might go down as the situation is getting worst but will not go down without fighting.