Gunmen murders six Hazaras near Mach

MACH (near Quetta), Nov 1, 2013: Al-Qaeda affiliated Jaish-ul Islam terrorists opened fire on a vehicle carrying Hazara coal-miners, murdering six and critically wounding one.

The vehicle was carrying the coal-mine laborers when it was ambushed at a speed breaker near Pindar-Gadh area, some seven kilometers off the main highway.

According to Mama Ghulam Hussain —an officer with the paramilitary “Levies” force— four terrorists on two motorcycles were involved in the indiscriminate shooting of the Hazara laborers. They reportedly left without being challenged. It is not known how the Levies officer knew such details and why his Levies force did not stop the attackers.

The names of six Hazaras murdered are: Zamin Ali, Abdul Hakim, Booman Ali, Asif Ali, Ali Raza, and Ibrahim, while one —Juma Khan— is reported to be in critical condition.

According to Hazara Organization for Peace and Equality (HOPE), Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist outfits have thus far claimed responsibility for 148 separate attacks on Hazaras to date, killing over 1300 and injuring over 3000 [ See Google Map of all attack locations ].

The two Hazara enclaves —Alamdar Road and Hazara Town— are under constant barrage of attacks and armed killers patrol city streets executing Hazaras wherever they find them. Other groups find Hazaras easy target frequently abducting for ransom or to force them to sell their valuable businesses for pennies. Currently the 600,000 peaceful Hazara community are confined in an open-air jail – the 4 to 5 mile radius of two enclaves.

Statement of Hazara Democratic Party (HDP):

The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) has strongly condemned the attack. Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Chairman HDP, has said the murders of innocent Hazara civilians once again raises questions on the reckless attitude and inability of the provincial government, as well as security agencies, in dealing with the terrorists. He reiterated HDP’s demand for targeted operation against the Al-Qaeda terrorist infrastructure in the state [ See full statement on Daily Qudrat ]

Statement of MP, John Denham (UK) – Chairman of the Hazara All Party Parliamentary Group
“This is another in a never-ending string of terrorist attacks perpetrated against the Hazaras of Pakistan. After nearly 14 years of these attacks it is appalling that not one terrorist has been brought to justice. The Pakistan authorities must act to protect the Hazaras & punish those responsible.”
Contact: Ashok Viswanathan – ashok.viswanathan@parliament.uk or secretariat@happg.org

Statement of Jaish-ul Islam terrorists:

[ See full statement on Daily Qudrat – Nov 2, 2013 ]

Translation:
Quetta (Qudrat News) : Ghazai Haq Nawaz, the spokesman of banned sectarian organization, Jaish-ul Islam, called from an unknown place to claim responsibility for the attack on Hazara laborers in Mach area of Bolan. The spokesman claimed the attack was in response to the “unjust and cruel” operations of the security agencies against them. The spokesman claimed that the officers involved in the operations are Shia that are involved in the “atrocities” against the Sunnis, and that we want to tell them that they will not find anyway to detain us because God’s help and prayers of our innocent sisters are with the “mujahideen” who are fighting against the enemies of the Sahaba. He further criticized the the government and security agencies and said that we have drawn listings of all government employees who are working with those that are against the Sahaba and we will eliminate them due time. He said that their [terrorist] activities will continue until the government start operations against the Shia organizations.

Note: Jaish-ul Islam, as well as Lashkar-e Jhangvi, are followers of Deobandi and Wahabi (Salafi) schools of thoughts. Their “pattern saint” is the Wahabist government of Saudi Arabia – the country that provides major funding to all Deobandi/Salafi based terrorist outfits across the world. Apart from their terrorist activities against the Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians, they are also involved in killing moderate Sunnis (eg. Barelvis and Sufis) and involved in bombings of Sufi shrines frequented by Sunnis such as bomb blast at Data Darbar in Lahore in July 2010.

About Mach, Quetta and Balochistan:

Mach is a small coal-mining town a few hours of drive from Quetta city. Relative to its size, there is a sizable population of Hazaras in the area working as laborers in the Hazara owned/leased coal mines.

Quetta is the provincial capital of the restive Balochistan province and currently the epicenter of the proxy war fought between major regional and international powers. The main armed factions are:

Baloch nationalists (BLA/BLF) -:- fighting against the Pakistani state for the establishment of an independent Balochistan.
Baloch-based vigilante groups (Balochistan Musala Difai Tanzeem etc.) -:- Allegedly working with the Pakistani state in targeting the Baloch nationalists.
Taliban (Mullah Omar) -:- Mullah Omar and Taliban high command —known as “Quetta Shura”— lives in the government-provided safe havens in and around Quetta city. They are often dubbed by the Pakistani government as the “good Taliban” since the Pakistani government exercises control over them. The “good Taliban” are responsible for carrying several genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan.
Tehreek-e Taliban (TTP) -:- Inside Balochistan, the TTP and Taliban (Mullah Omar) dominates the Pushtun belt (Quetta – Chaman). The TTP has connections with the Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LEJ) and Taliban (Mullah Omar), among others. The Pakistani government dubs TTP as the “Bad Taliban” as they frequently targets state security apparatus. However, there are complicated dynamics between Pakistan’s elite security forces and all militant groups operating inside Pakistan. For example, the luxurious house of TTP chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, in Dande Darpakhel near Miranshah is reported within a kilometer of the Pakistani Army base that are supposedly fighting the TTP. Mehsud was killed by a US drone strike at his home on Nov 1, 2013.
Jaish-ul Islam and Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LEJ) -:- Jaish-ul Islam is a relatively new player on the scene and it is not yet known if they are really LEJ in disguise. The LEJ is one of the most violent terrorist organization with a sizable national and international footprint. Both of these, as well as all Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist outfits, are followers of Deobandi/Salafi sects (two of the most extreme strains of Sunni Islam) and receive major funding from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar.

The situation in Quetta and wider Balochistan is currently out of the hands of the Police and State Government. The Federal Government and its elite security agencies (such as ISI) have shown little appetite to go after the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist hubs (such as the small town of Mastung where Hazaras are frequently targeted) adding to the allegations by several Human Rights organizations that the elite security agencies of Pakistani government are fully complicit in the genocide of its own citizens.

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