Human Rights and the Will to be free

...The attack was the latest in a slow-motion genocide of minority Shia Muslims in Pakistan by Sunni-Muslim extremists who consider the Shia as infidels, thus worthy of death. Many attacks against Shia Muslims are carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a militant Islamic group allied with al-Qaida and the Taliban. This time too the LeJ promptly claimed responsibility for the slaughter

So far the Hazaras have endured every killing and attack with silent suffering, hoping their lack of response would be rewarded by a cessation of targeted attacks. But not this time.

The sight of 100 mangled bodies, including that of Pakistan’s leading Shia youth activist for human rights, Khud Ali, seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Instead of burying the dead, as is required by Islamic law, the Hazara shia Muslims have taken the coffins to the streets and refused to bury the deceased</a> unless the government assures them of protection against jihadi groups tied to the Taliban.

For over 24 hours now the Hazara shia of Quetta have braved sub-zero temperatures that dropped to -10C, and are refusing to vacate the blocked road or to bury the dead. So far there has been total inaction by all levels of government. Frightened by the Islamic terrorists, it seems the country’s president, prime minister and the provincial chief minister, have all cowered down in their respective shelters, not knowing if it would be safe, exposing themselves among the ordinary mourning Hazaras. ....