An ambulance carries away a person injured in Fridayâ„¢s clashes in central Pakistan.
Pro-Taliban militants have clashed with Shia Muslims in central Pakistan, leaving at least nine Shias dead and six others injured, according to security and hospital sources.
Members of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, the new name of the banned anti-Shia group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), were involved in Fridayâ„¢s clashes, which happened in the town of Bhakkar in Punjab province.
At least two militants were also killed in the violence.
The SSP was established in the early 1980s during the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq. However, Pervez Musharraf, another military ruler, banned the outfit in 2002, declaring it a terrorist organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.
Hundreds of Shia Muslims later held a demonstration in Bhakkar against the killings and blocked a local road.
The protesters also called on the government to take immediate action against the forces involved in the violence.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, which is one of the largest Shia political formations in Pakistan, announced a three-day mourning period for the victims.
Human rights groups have criticized the Pakistani government for its failure to stem the rising tide of violence against the countryâ„¢s Shia Muslims.
According to Human Rights Watch, about 400 Shia Muslims were killed in 2012 in Pakistan, and more than 200 have been killed since the beginning of 2013.
The New York-based group said Islamabad’s failure to capture or prosecute terrorists suggested it was “indifferent” to the killings.
On February 16, a bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the main bazaar of the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta killed at least 90 people, including women and children, and injured 200 others. According to the police, most of the victims were Hazara Shias.
On January 10, a twin bomb attack at a crowded billiard hall killed more than 90 people, mostly Shia Muslims, in Quetta, which is the capital of Balochistan province.
According to former Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, anti-Shia terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) has been involved in 80 percent of terrorist incidents in the country.
The LeJ was founded in 1996 by Riaz Basra after he broke away from the SSP over differences with his superiors.
GJH/MHB
Republished from: Press TV