Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa reached Quetta on Tuesday to meet the Hazara community as the hunger strike protest carried out by members of the persecuted community to bring attention towards the killing of Hazaras in the city entered its fourth day.

According to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations, the army chief will be briefed about the security situation in the provincial capital and he will “meet notables of Hazara community”.

Gen Bajwa presided over a security meeting which was reportedly attended by members of Hazara community, Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Balochistan governor and chief minister, and senior military officials.

Lawyer and activist Jalila Haider, who is leading the hunger strike camp set up outside Quetta press club, had said on Monday that she will continue the strike until the army chief visits the city and details concrete steps to bring the killers to justice and protect the religious minority.

Haider had said Gen Qamar Bajwa should come and console the thousands of widows and orphaned children left by the killing of Hazaras in Pakistan over the past two decades.

In recent months, at least 30 Hazaras have been gunned down in Quetta, however, police have still not arrested any suspect.

The protest against the unabated killings of Hazaras started on Saturday following the targetted killing of two members of their community.

The protesters have repeatedly criticised law enforcement and security agencies for their inaction and failure in preventing Hazaras from being murdered with impunity.

Sectarian terrorism in Balochistan has disproportionately targeted people from the predominantly Shia Hazara community, easily identifiable because of their distinct physical attributes.