Pak Govt "has been all talk and no action" in protecting Shias: HRW

New York, Oct 6(ANI): The Pakistan Government should take all necessary steps to ensure the security of Shia Muslims in the Balochistan province, and dismantle and hold accountable Sunni extremist groups responsible for targeted killings against the Shia community, the Human Rights Watch has said.

"The targeted killings of Shia are a barbaric attempt at sectarian and ethnic cleansing," HRW Asia Director Brad Adams said.

"President [Asif Ali] Zardari needs to understand that the will of the government to protect ordinary people is measured by action," he said. "As far as protecting the Shia is concerned, Pakistan's government has been all talk and no action."

While sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia militant groups has been a persistent problem in Pakistan, more recent attacks have primarily targeted ordinary Shia going about their daily lives, the HRW said in a statement.

Despite Pakistan's return to constitutional rule in 2008, scores of unarmed Shia have been killed across Pakistan by Sunni extremists, particularly around the Islamic month of Moharram, which is of particular significance to the Shia, it added.

The HRW said it has recorded at least 16 attacks on Shia Muslims so far in 2011 across Pakistan.

Sunni militant groups, such as the supposedly banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi, operate with impunity even in areas where state authority is well established, such as Punjab province and the port city of Karachi, the statement said.

Both in Balochistan, where local militants challenge government authority, and elsewhere across Pakistan, law enforcement officials have been seen to look the other way during attacks on Shia and other vulnerable groups, it added.

In Balochistan, some Sunni extremist groups are widely viewed as allies of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and the paramilitary Frontier Corps, which are responsible for security there, the statement said.

"The government's failure to break up the extremist groups that carry out these attacks calls into question its commitment to protect all of its citizens," Adams said. (ANI)