 "Senior Iranian cleric demands Pak PM to end targeted killing of minorities")
Condemning the recent attack in Pakistan that killed 11 people from the minority Shiite Hazara community in Balochistan, senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi has demanded Imran Khan-led government to put an end to the targeted killing of the "followers of the Ahl ul-Bayt (AS)".
"The recent crime in Bolan, Baluchistan, filled the hearts of all followers of the Qur'an, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and His Household around the world with sorrow and filled their hearts with anger," Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi was quoted as saying by IRNA on January 8.
"Continuation of the crimes by the Takfiri groups in Pakistan and the targeted killing of the followers of the Ahl ul-Bayt (AS) in this Islamic land has grieved and affected me and all those who are interested in the religion greatly," he added.
Although several decades have passed since the beginning of these insecurities, but unfortunately, the government and the judicial, military and security organisations of this country have not been able to curb this great crisis, and every day the bad news of new murders and terrorist operations is heard, IRNA quoted the senior Iranian cleric.
On January 3, unidentified gunmen stormed into a coal mine in Machh town near Quetta, pulling out ethnic Hazaras, members of Pakistan's Shia minority community, from their homes and open firing on them. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Shia community had been protesting against the killing of miners from the last six days.
The Baloch Republican Party said that Imran Khan government is deliberately turning a deaf ear to the voices of Balochs, Hazaras, Sindhis and minorities.
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BRP spokesperson Sher Mohammad Bugti said in a tweet that the latest case of the brutal killing of 11 Hazaras is another testimony to the lawlessness and persecution of minorities in Pakistan.
"Imran Khan government is deliberately turning a deaf ear to the voices of Balochs, Hazaras, Sindhis and minorities who just seek a peaceful life with dignity," he said.