UN chief ‘appalled’ by Pakistan sectarian killings

[foxbat]

UN chief

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon was “appalled”by the sectarian killing of 20 Shia Muslims who were dragged off a bus in Pakistan on Thursday, his spokesman said.

“The secretary general expresses his outrage over such deliberate attacks on people due to their religious beliefs in Pakistan,” said a statement released by UN spokesman Martin Nesirky which strongly condemned the attack.

Terrorists ambushed four buses, pulled out the passengers and shot at least 19 of them dead in the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district on Thursday.

Before killing the passengers, the assailants had checked their identity cards and shot them because they were Shia.

“More than 50 terrorists wearing commando uniform intercepted a convoy going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit-Baltistan before 7am, hauled off passengers from four vans, identified them through their national identity cards and shot 19 of them dead,” District Coordination Officer Dr Amber Ali Khan said.

He said several CNICs had been found at the place in the mountain range where the attack had taken place.

“This attack appears to be similar to the one carried out in Harban area of Kohistan in February and almost all the victims belonged to the Shia community,” he said.

It was the third attack of its kind in six months.

 

[karan.1970]

I personally believe this attack is a bigger representative of the threats faced by Pakistan than the one on Kamran base.. Unfortunately, attacks on military get more footage and more reactions than killing of 20 Shias... And this in itself is the biggest threat of all...

 

[Riyadh Haque]

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon was “appalled”by the sectarian killing of 20 Shia Muslims who were dragged off a bus in Pakistan on Thursday, his spokesman said......

The main reason why we have so many conflicts all across Pakistan (Shia, Barelvi, Deobandi, Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali, Muhajir, Sindhi, Baloch, Balawaristani, Kashmiri, Pashtun) is because we have still (even after 65 years) not managed to develop a strong consensus about any cohesive foundational narrative for our country.

This is the single most important point.

Perhaps the thread linked below is in the wrong place, but it may help us evolve such a consensus around a strong, cogent and cohesive narrative that we can then formalize universally.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/curren...oll-what-foundational-narrative-pakistan.html

Once such a universal narrative is in place, I feel a lot of our factionalistic problems will slowly start to disappear and the Shia, Sunni & others will all begin to feel more "Pakistani".

 

[Hindustani]

Sad. May the Shias RIP

 

[Solomon2]

The main reason why we have so many conflicts all across Pakistan (Shia, Barelvi, Deobandi, Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali, Muhajir, Sindhi, Baloch, Balawaristani, Kashmiri, Pashtun) is because we have still (even after 65 years) not managed to develop a strong consensus about any cohesive foundational narrative for our country.

You mean building a Pakistani identity. This has been the obsession of Pakistani statesmen from the beginning: without ideology, you're just North Indians. You've sought identity in keeping "Muslim" India united and that led to the massacres of 1971. You've sought identity in Islam but that hasn't worked either, as Jinnah foresaw.

For now I suggest paying more attention to VALUES rather than defining identity. Chosen properly, that's the route to peace, prosperity, and spiritual fulfillment. And you don't have to go about slaying others just because they're not "our people".

 

[Dance]

You mean building a Pakistani identity. This has been the obsession of Pakistani statesmen from the beginning: without ideology, you're just North Indians.

False.

North India is diverse place not just one group of people. Plus you're forgetting the western half of Pakistan.

 

[Solomon2]

North India is diverse place not just one group of people. Plus you're forgetting the western half of Pakistan.

Exactly, North India is a geographic place, not a nation.

 

[Dance]

Exactly, North India is a geographic place, not a nation.

With different ethnicities. So I dont understand how Pakistanis are north Indians without ideology when a lot of Pakistanis don't even fall into the place of north India?

 

[INDIC]

Exactly, North India is a geographic place, not a nation.

Biggest irony is Pakistanis speak same language like us North Indians but still claim not related to Indians.

 

[xyxmt]

Its the same game played in Iraq, best way to start chaos is to have it a go between Shia and Sunni.
Too bad Pakistan is not Iraq. We ignorant Pakistani people dont care about anything but our bank accounts and we definitly dont care if my sunni or my Shia people are being killed.

In this case I would say Ignorance is a virtue.
Our Enemies will learn so much more about Pakistani people

 

[Irfan Baloch]

Biggest irony is Pakistanis speak same language like us North Indians but still claim not related to Indians.

wonder what does language has to do with killing of shias?

rest in peace to the dead, and may the drones find the killers if the Pakistani security apparatus doesnt