The Hazara community’s sit-in continues, and promises have been made by government officials, giving guarantees that the community will be given all manner of state protection and security. But how did things reach this impasse anyway? After all, even as some modicum of safety and security has returned to other parts of the country, the same cannot be said for Balochistan. The Hazara community has been badly hit in particular. Today there is hardly any Hazara household in Quetta that has not been hit by tragedy. Perhaps the answer lies in one of the demands being made by the Hazara’s at their sit-in, and that is full implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). First established in January 2019, neither the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government or the current Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been able to implement the plan in its entirety. Despite reiterating numerous times that the PTI government would implement NAP across the board and no terrorists or terrorist organisations would be given space to operate in Pakistan, the truth is the government has not been able to live up to its word. After all, the incident took place three days after LeJ Balochistan leader Ramzan Mengal was released from custody. Though Mengal denies partaking in any anti-Shia violence himself, the fact of the matter is he has been seen numerous times declaring Shia Muslims apostates. That such a man is not only allowed to walk free, but has also been allowed to contest elections goes to show how seriously the authorities are about implementing NAP. The PTI government must now prove it is serious about implementing NAP and ending the suffering of the Hazara people. All terrorists; whether they are guilty of direct violence or incitement to violence must be arrested and stopped from shedding more blood. *