Islamic scholars condemn killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan

Islamic scholars condemn killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan

Mumbai---A group of Islamic scholars today
called upon international bodies like United Nations, Human
Rights Watch and Amnesty International and governments across
the world to devise ways to put an end to killing of Shia
Muslims in Pakistan.
"It is extremely shameful," Islamic scholar Maulana
Sayed Ahmedalo Abidi, Imam-e-Juma Khoja Jama Masjid Dongri and
Principal of Houza Ilmiya Najifi House, told reporters here.
"Shias are being attacked, shot and bombed. This is
extremely serious," he said, urging the Indian government to
take up the issue in international forums.
He also appealed to the government of Pakistan to
ensure that Shias were protected from violence unleashed by
militants.
The Islamic scholars said the Army must be made
directly responsible and accountable for the law and order
situation and safety of all people, including Shias in Quetta
and other parts of Balochistan.
"The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan must look
into the issue," said Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi, General
Secretary All India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board.
Pakistan has been besieged by militant attacks in
recent years, many of them carried out by Pakistani Taliban,
who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the
government.
Radical Sunni militant groups have also increasingly
targeted the country's Shias because they do not view them as
real Muslims, Rizvi said in a statement.
Many of these sectarian attacks have occurred in
southwest Balochistan province, which has the largest
concentration of Shias in Pakistan, he said.
The Islamic scholars also condemned the twin blasts at
Hyderabad recently.