ISLAMABAD: Civil society organisations and citizens staged a protest on Sunday in front of the National Press Club against four recent incidents in which minorities were killed.

A mob in Gujranwala killed a woman and two children of the Ahmadi community on July 27. The next day, two boys belonging to Hazara Shia community were killed and left on a road in Quetta.

On July 29, Syed Akhtar Abbas Kazmi, who belonged to the Shia sect, was targeted in D.I. Khan. Following that, two businessmen, Herala and Ashok Kumar, both Hindus, were killed in Umerkot on July 30.

Protesters questioned why the government was silent and why media houses were not giving enough attention to these issues.

The civil society members, including Samar Minallah, demanded the government to take necessary measures to protect minorities and religious sects.

The protesters demanded the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the situation and urged the government to evolve a strategy to eliminate radicalisation and terrorism.

Human rights activist Meena Gabeena told Dawn that Article 25 of the Constitution ensured equal rights for every Pakistani, which, according to her, was not being implemented.

Published in Dawn, Aug 4th, 2014