The Universal Justice Movement strongly condemns the bomb attacks which killed more than 100 people in one day. The bombs targeted members of the Shia community in Pakistan. Shias have long been the victim of sectarian attacks in Pakistan which have increased and exacerbated since the foreign intervention in the region.
The Pakistani government needs to do more to tackle groups such as Lashkar-e-Jangvi and their ideology of hatred, sectarianism and division. UJN also recognises that the foreign intervention in the region including illegal drone attacks are fuelling extremism as well as targeting innocent civilians.
Pakistan has now become a place where it is unsafe for normal people to go about their daily business. Extremists have attacked shrines, mosques, and the streets of the major cities in the country. This situation cannot continue. The Pakistani government must take action to remove the cancer of sectarianism from its country.
Chair of IHRC, Massoud Shadjareh said, “The only solution to this cancerous phenomenon is to go back to the Qur’anic principle to Unite and hold onto the rope of Allah.”
Chair of Citizens International, Mohideen Abdul Kader said, “The Pakistan government should take urgent steps to stop this barbaric action and the Muslim ummah should also condemn such attacks and put an end to these sectarian conflicts which are being instigated by enemies of Islam and Muslims.”
Elected Imam of Washington Islamic Centre, Imam, Imam Al Asi Said, “What’s happening in Pakistan has to be viewed from a larger angle of what’s happening in the Muslim world. In the Muslim world there is an attempt to ignite sectarian warfare in places such as Syria and Iraq, all the way to the Indian subcontinent. So this event in Quetta, Pakistan is the latest attack on innocent people to try to spread Sunni/Shia conflict inside Pakistan on a much broader scale.”
Notes to Editors
1) For media enquiries please email media@ihrc.org or call 0044 20 8904 4222
2) Universal Justice Network (UJN) is a global initiative that seeks to establish an empowered Ummah https://ujnweb.com/about/
3) Charter 3:103 is a charter that calls for Muslim unity https://ujnweb.com/charter-3103/about-the-charter/
