QUETTA: A shutter-down strike was being observed in Quetta on Tuesday as a sign of protest against yesterday's killings of seven people, including four Hazara men, on the call of the Hazara Democratic Party, DawnNews reported.

Four men of the Hazara Shia community were killed and two others injured in an attack on Quetta’s Masjid road.

According to the police, Raza Hussain and his colleagues were going home after closing their electronic shop when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on their vehicle. The attackers escaped after the shooting.

Later on Monday, gunmen opened fire at a cold drink shop in Khudaidad Chowk area, injuring seven people.

The wounded were rushed to Civil Hospital, however, three of them succumbed to their injuries on their way.

Enraged locals staged protests after the incident.

A heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel have been deployed in various parts of the city today to avoid the occurrence of another untoward incident in the provincial capital.

Meanwhile, chief of the Hazara Political Workers Party, Muhammad Tahir Hazara, threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement if genocide against Hazaras was not stopped.

Addressing a press conference, along with leaders of almost all the Hazara and Shia organisations, Muhammad Tahir Hazara said: "We will approach United Nations and other human rights groups if the killings are not stopped".

He lamented that under an organised conspiracy, Hazaras were being targeted right under the nose of law enforcement agencies.

Tahir said that since the last few months Sunni Muslims living close to Hazaras were being targeted to foment sectarian differences and conflict. "Some elements want to lead the city towards civil war", he feared.

He demanded political forces and members of the civil society to break their silence over the killings of Hazaras, adding that rulers must take practical steps to put a stop to the attacks.