KARACHI, July 10: A meeting of various non-governmental organizations, condemning the massacre in a Quetta imambargah in which over 50 people were killed and over 80 others were wounded, has demanded that a high-level judicial inquiry be instituted into the matter and the culprits be brought to book immediately.

The meeting of the Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights, held in the office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, was attended by representatives of the HRCP, Aurat Foundation, Shirkat Gah, All Pakistan Trade Union, Pakistan Labour Party, Forum for Peace and Development, etc.

The meeting adopted an unanimous resolution which said: “We the civil society organizations believe that this is an act of sectarian terrorism in which people of one particular sect has been attacked.

“Although, the incidents of sectarian killings in Pakistan are not new but the recent past has seen an alarming rise in targeting a particular faith group. It was third such attack against one group.

“It is an eye opener as the terrorists has used suicide bombing to eliminate the other sect. This is the worst form of religious intolerance and condemnable in its forms and manifestations.

“We deem it as a failure of federal and provincial governments. They have not been able to put a strict check on sections of religious extremists that carry out such horrible attacks. It also shows the negligence on the part of law enforcement agencies.

“The people in general and of the minority communities have become extremely vulnerable in the wake of growing incidents of terrorism. The government has left the people on the mercy of bigots who do not believe in rule of law, religious harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

“Fourteen people were earlier killed in Quetta but the government did not take any concrete steps to bring the culprits to justice and those killing went unnoticed.

“We demand that a high level inquiry be instituted into the matter with all legal powers and resources to dig out the real brain behind the massacre. It is very unfortunate that major political parties have adopted a policy of silence on this issue.

“We urge them to come forward and play their due role in order to address sectarian violence. These incidents should not be seen as isolated events.