Embassy of Pakistan, February 2013
The Honorable Sherry Rehman
Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
3517 International Court NW
Washington, DC 20008
Dear ambassador Rehman,
On behalf of Shia Rights Watch, I am writing to highlight the on-going human rights violations toward Shia in Pakistan and to ask for immediate action to end the violations in this country.
Since the beginning of 2013, more than 175 Shia were killed and 320 were injured due to Shia targeted killings in this country. Sectarian violence has killed hundreds of Pakistanis in recent months. Pakistani Shia are facing public massacre in Pakistan and very little action is taken by the Pakistani government to stop the violence. Those behind targeted Shia killings are rarely caught or punished, and this raises the question about the possibility of government’s involvement in the recent violations.
As you are aware, the number of Shia killings is increasing every day in Pakistan.
- On January 2013, 90 Shia Muslims lost their lives and 123 were injured due to a car bomb in Alamdar Road in Quetta
- On February 3rd, four Shia were killed while shopping in Karachi
- On February 16th, 80 Shia Muslims were killed and about 200 injures due to bomb explosion in Quetta
- On February 18th, a well-known Shia doctor, Dr Ali Heidar and his son Murteza were gunned down
SRW urges the Pakistani government to take necessarily actions to end violations. Pakistani government is supporting the terrorist groups by not arresting and/or investigating the killings. Based on international law, the government is responsible to protect the human rights of all its citizens and investigate the targeted killings.
