QUETTA: At least two people from the provincial capital’s Hazara community were killed and another three injured after unknown assailants opened fire on them on Sunday.

Senior police officer Muhammad Khair Sumalani told Dawn that the men came under attack while they were travelling back to Hazara Town from the Hazarganji vegetable market.

“Unidentified armed men riding motorcycles opened fire at their vehicle, killing two people on the spot and injuring three,” he said.

The senior police official said that the incident appeared to be a “targeted killing”, adding that the police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site soon after the incident.

Civil Hospital Spokesperson Wasim Bag told Dawn that the hospital had received two bodies and three injured persons.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and police have launched a search operation.

The Hazara community blocked the Western Bypass to protest the incident, disrupting traffic. Administration and police were negotiating with the protesters.

Separately, in a post on X, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti took notice of the incident, terming it a “cowardly and reprehensible act”.

“It cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” the chief minister said, expressing sorrow over the loss of life.

He vowed that the state would take action against “those who play with the lives of innocent citizens”. CM Bugti directed the inspector general of Balochistan police to submit a report on the incident.

Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove also took notice of the incident.

Similar incidents have been reported in the past in the Hazargangi area, where vegetable sellers came under attack.

In 2019, at least 20 people were killed and 48 injured in a blast believed to be targeting members of the Hazara community in Quetta’s Hazarganji market.

Hazaras are disproportionately targeted by sectarian violence as they are easily identifiable due to their distinctive physical appearance.

A report released by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in 2018 stated that 509 members of the Hazara community were killed and 627 were injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta from January 2012 to Dec 2017.