The 2011 Mastung bus shooting was an armed attack on 20 September 2011 on a bus traveling in

Mastung District Mastung District ( bal, مستونگ; ur, ) is a district located in the northwest of Balochistan province, Pakistan. Prior to its creation as a separate district in 1991, Mastung was part of Kalat District. Administration The district consi ...

near the city of

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

in the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i province of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. The attack left at least 26 people dead. The victims were

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Muslim pilgrims of the

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

community, suggesting the attack to have been a

targeted killing Targeted killing is a form of murder or assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and betw ...

sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

nature. The attack occurred in Luck Pass area near Mastung. The bus was leaving Quetta for

Taftan, Balochistan Taftan ( ur, ) ( bal, ) is a trunk road and railway town in Chagai District, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of Pakistan's border crossings with Iran. It is by either road or rail over from Quetta. It is northeast of the thermally active d ...

. In addition, 2 others were killed in a follow-up attack on a car on its way to rescue the survivors of the bus attack, which raised the death toll to 28 on that day. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

extremist Pakistani militant group designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and the United States claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background

Many Hazaras, due to economic problems, travel to far and remote areas in search of employment. One of the locations is Taftan, a border town with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, which provides many income opportunities for thousands of people daily. Some Hazaras even move to

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

to earn a living. As majority of Hazara people are from the

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

sect of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, likewise thousands of other people from around the world, go to Iran for the pilgrimage of shrine of Imam Reza. Mastung is a town located in the north-west of

. The majority of the population is

Balochs.

Massacre

A group of around 10 men on two vehicles, armed with rocket launchers and

Kalashnikovs The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms des ...

assault rifles, stopped a passenger bus carrying pilgrims in the Ganjidori area of Mastung. The bus was travelling from Quetta to Taftan a border town with

. 45 passengers were on board, but only the

Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...

were identified and asked to step out. They were lined up and the assailants started shooting non-stop for ten minutes, which left 26 dead at the end of the day.

Perpetrators

The banned Pakistani

extremist militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed the responsibility for the massacre. The same terrorist group has also been involved in Hazara Town massacre,

Ashura massacre The Ashura massacre of March 2, 2004 in Iraq was a series of planned terrorist explosions that killed at least 80-100 and injured at least 200 Iraqi Shi'a Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura. The bombings brought one of the deadliest days ...

, Mosque masscre, and Quds Day bombing.

Funeral

The burial ceremony was conducted next day, in

Hazara Town Hazara Town (Urdu: , Hazaragi: , Dari: ) is a lower- to middle-income area on the western outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan with a population of up to 2,500,000, of which an estimated two-thirds are ethnic Hazaras and the remaining portion are Pas ...

cemetery. The bodies were taken to 26 Imabargahs within Hazara Town region

Protest and reactions

Protesters held a peaceful protest against the attack on Hazara pilgrims. The protesters demanded the resignation of

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Aslam Raisani Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani ( ur, ) (born 5 July 1955 in Sarawan, Balochistan) is a four times elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan who served as the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 9 April 2008 until 14 January 2013. ...

. Thousands of women and children took part in the protest and demanded United nations to take notice of what has been happening to Hazara people Protests, rallies and demonstrations were held in the wake of the terrorist attack in many different parts of the country, including in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Skardu, Muzaffarabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur,

Ghotki Ghotki ( ur, ; sd, گهوٽڪي) is a city in northern Sindh, Pakistan. It is the headquarter of Ghotki District. It is the 87th largest city of Pakistan by population. Ghotki is famous for Pera Sweet. History According to Mirza Kalich Beg ...

and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. The

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Asif Ali Zardari, Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi, Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, The Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) and others strongly condemned the barbaric attack on Hazara Shia minority in Quetta. The Chief Justice at the

Balochistan High Court The Balochistan High Court ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of Balochistan, Pakistan. The court is formally known as the High Court of Balochistan. It is situated in the provincial capital, Quetta. Mir Ali Dost Bugti was the first ...

took ''

suo moto In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its or their own accord") or ''suo motu'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken wi ...

'' notice of the killings and issued notices to the federal and provincial

Government of Balochistan The Government of Balochistan ( ur, ) is the provincial government of the largest province of Balochistan, Pakistan in Quetta. The head of the province is the Governor, who is nominated by the President of Pakistan. The chief executive of the G ...

in the wake of the attack. A committee was formed by Balochistan Chief Minister, to probe the incident and report within 15 days. The committee comprised Interior Secretary Major (R) Chaudhry Qamar Zaman,

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

Balochistan Police Balochistan Police or Baloch Police ( Baloch, Urdu: بلوچستان پولیس) is responsible for policing urban Balochistan, Pakistan. Its strength is 38,000 as of 2018. The current Inspector General of Police, Balochistan is Abdul Khalique S ...

Rao Mohammad Amin Hashim, Commissioner of Quetta and

Khuzdar Khuzdar ( Brahui/ bal, ; ur, , ), historically known as Qusdar ( ar, قصدار, quṣdār), is the capital city of Khuzdar District in the central part of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. Khuzdar is the 2nd-largest city of Balochistan province ...

Division Naseem Lehri, Capital City Police Officer Quetta Ehsan Mahboob, Deputy Commissioner of Quetta Shaukat Ali Maraghzani and Mastung Deputy Commissioner Noorul Haq Baloch. The license of the company which was carrying the pilgrims was canceled by Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri. Iranian Government closed the Taftan border with

after the incident.

References

External links

Video footage of the Massacre
released by the terrorists (''Warning: the video contains Extreme violence, discretion is advised for people with weak constitutions'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Mastung bus shooting 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Mass murder in 2011

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Persecution of Hazara people Violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan Spree shootings in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2011 Mass shootings in Pakistan Deaths by firearm in Pakistan Crime in Balochistan, Pakistan Terrorist incidents on buses in Asia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks September 2011 events in Pakistan 2011 mass shootings in Asia 2011 murders in Pakistan