WASHINGTON, Feb 18: Hours after yet another bomb blast killed at least 89 people in Quetta, protesters outside the White House urged US President Barack Obama to intervene and stop the genocide of Shias in Pakistan.

“We want President Obama to intervene and stop this genocide,” Maolana Mehdi Agha, a leader of the Washington area Muslim community told the protesters. “We want him to ensure that the Shias in Pakistan are protected.”

Most of the protesters were Americans of Muslim origin and they reminded the Obama administration that they had voted for him in the last two elections. “Now it is your duty to use America’s influence to protect our brothers being killed in Pakistan,” said one of the protesters.

“It is not sectarian violence. It is planned genocide. The intention is to eliminate the Shia community from Pakistan,” said Maolana Agha.

The protesters came from across the greater Washington area, braving sub-zero temperatures and a biting wind. They ringed the White House, chanting slogans against the genocide and also marched around it, carrying placards and banners.

The speakers demanded justice for the Shia community.