2 Hazara minority community members killed in Pakistan's Balochistan

Two people belonging to the Shia Muslim Hazara minority community were shot dead in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.

The incident took place in Balochistan's capital Quetta on Saturday, police said. Unidentified gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on the vehicle of the Hazara men, who were travelling from the Hazara Town to the Hazarganjh market to purchase vegetables for their businesses, senior police official Khair Sumalani said.

While two men belonging to the Hazara minority community died in the firing, three others were injured, he said.


"It appears to be a targeted killing," the police official said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Soon after the incident, the Hazara community blocked the Western Bypass to protest the attack, disrupting traffic.

The Hazara community has come under attack in the past as well, but for some time, they have been spared by extreme religious group militants and terrorists.

In 2019, at least 20 people were killed and 48 others injured in a bomb blast in Quetta's Hazarganji market.

Hazaras are disproportionately targeted by sectarian violence as they are easily identifiable due to their distinctive physical appearance.

In February 2013, 91 people were killed and around 190 were injured when a bomb blast took place in Hazara Town in Quetta.