Islamabad: Protests and strikes were observed throughout Pakistan on Sunday condemning the devastating bomb blast targeting Shias that claimed 84 lives in Quetta city, as the Governor of Balochistan province blamed the attack on the "intelligence failure".
About 200 people were left injured, 20 of whom are still said to be in critical condition, when nearly a tonne of explosives hidden in a water-tank loaded on a tractor-trolley were triggered by remote control in a busy market at Kirani Road in Hazara Town, a suburb of Quetta, last evening.
The seriously injured people have been shifted to hospitals in Karachi.
Governor of Balochistan province, Zulfiqar Magsi, told media persons while visiting the injured in a hospital that security forces and law enforcement agencies have failed in providing security in the province.
Magsi said the attack on the Hazara Shias was a failure of the security forces and law enforcement agencies.
"Seemingly, the agents are either too scared to go after the terror-mongers or too clueless to even know who they are dealing with," Magsi was quoted as saying by Geo News.
"It's their job to pre-empt such attacks. That's what they are paid for. Alas! They failed all these innocent people who died in this catastrophic bomb blast," he said.
Different Shia organisations and Sunni groups took out rallies in Pakistan's biggest city today to protest the sectarian killings when in some areas the protests turned violent with protesters resorting to firing and burning of vehicles.
The city markets, shopping centres and petrol pumps remained shut down as a complete strike was observed against the sectarian killings.
The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an off-shoot of the hardline Sunni sectarian group Sipah Sahaba, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Most of those killed in the blast were from the Hazara Shia community who have been the target of sectarian attacks for months now in the Balochistan province.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 17, 2013, 16:23