Thousands of Pakistanis demonstrate against ongoing Shia killings

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Thousands of Shia Muslims have staged a demonstration in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi to condemn the Shia killings in the South Asian country.On Friday, the demonstrators shouted slogans against the government and criticized Pakistan’s security forces for failing to provide security to the country’s Shia Muslims.They also denounced the Saudi Arabian policy of funding extremist groups that commit acts of violence against Muslims in Pakistan.In addition, the protesters called on the government to take immediate action against the forces involved in the sectarian killings and said more demonstrations would be staged if justice is not served.The protest march was organized by the All Pakistan Shia Action Committee.Violence against the Pakistani Shia Muslims has been on the rise in recent months.On March 3, a car bomb attack killed at least 48 people and wounded 150 others in a Shia neighborhood in Karachi.Following the incident, former Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the anti-Shia terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi carried out the Karachi bombing.On February 16, a bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the main bazaar of the southwestern city of Quetta killed at least 90 people, including women and children, and injured 200 others. According to the police, most of the victims were Hazara Shias.On January 10, a twin bomb attack at a crowded billiard hall killed more than 90 people, mostly Shia Muslims, in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the two bombings in Quetta. /129