Daily Times

“Whosever killed a person; it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.” The Holy Quran (5:33)

Our religion, Islam, teaches tolerance, peace and universal brotherhood. But in today’s world, many so-called Muslims seems to have forgotten about the fundamental laws and principles of Islam. A few days ago, cowardly inhumane act of terrorism took place in Balochistan, and the gunmen took the lives of 11 innocent people. Now here comes the real question,” Who were those 11 people? Well, they were from Pakistan’s minority Shi’ite Hazaras. Their only fault was their faith. Yes, you heard it right, Shia Hazaras were killed on the basis of their faith. The so-called believers and advocates of Islam took their lives in a very inhumane way possible.

The only fault of those innocent miners was their faith. They were only trying to make their both ends meet. And to be very honest, this is not new. There has always been discrimination in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan on the mere basis of faith. Shia people have always been a victim of sectarianism. The ethnic Hazara population make up the most of Shia population in Balochistan. And once in a while, they get killed because of their ethnicity and faith.

It has been several days, and the people have been sitting on the roads and demanding justice for the lost souls. While, on the other hand, our officials are only condemning, which is more heart-wrenching. Hazara people have gathered on the roads, but it doesn’t seem they are getting justice any soon. Our officials are only good at making promises, but when it comes to fulfilling those promises, they once made, they disappear, as if they don’t even exist.

We, as a society, have become so heartless that we don’t feel anything at all. Besides, in Balochistan, Shias are already living in terror, and now this incident took place. And I cannot imagine the pain and suffering of the families of the victims. It must be tough for them to live in a state which cannot even protect their lives, let alone their other needs.