Sectarian Violence: Government official shot dead in Quetta

In another incident of sectarian violence, unidentified armed men on Wednesday killed a senior official of the Geological Survey of Pakistan in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

Mohsin Ali Naqvi, a member of the Shia community, was gunned down outside his office in the provincial metropolis.

Police official Mohammed Ayaz while speaking to the media confirmed the killing, saying that it was an apparent sectarian attack.

A media report quoting the police official said, “We are investigating the crime but it seems a case of sectarian killing. There is a wave of sectarian killing in the country and this is part of that.”

In-charge of the local police station Noor Bukhsh also spoke to the media, saying the armed men were waiting for Naqvi, a deputy director of the Survey, at the main gate of his office.

He was quoted as saying, “Two gunmen were waiting for him at the main gate of his office. They fired bullets at him from close range and escaped. His family said they had no feud with anybody and Naqvi was killed because he was Shia.”

Although no one claimed responsibility of the attack, the banned sectarian outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), usually claim responsibility for the attacks on Shia Muslims.

Last month a Shia judge was shot dead in Quetta along with his driver and police bodyguard.

Sectarian conflict has left thousands of people dead since the late 1980s, and the province also suffers Taliban attacks and a separatist insurgency.

Human rights groups have heavily criticized Pakistan for failing to crack down on sectarian violence between the country’s majority Sunni and minority Shiite communities that has killed thousands.

Earlier, United Nation General Secretary Ban Ki Moon has taken notice of the latest killing of Shias in Pakistan where militants are active in destabilizing the region.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=33192

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Sep 26 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.