Pakistan sacks provincial govt
PAKISTAN: Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on
Monday sacked the provincial government in Baluchistan after meeting
Shiite Muslim protesters demanding protection after a massive bomb
attack.
Members of the minority community have refused to bury those killed
on Thursday in Pakistan's worst sectarian bombings when suicide
attackers killed 92 people at a crowded snooker hall in the provincial
capital Quetta.
More than 120 were wounded in the attacks claimed by Sunni Muslim
militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in an area dominated by Shiites from
the Hazara ethnic minority.
Shiite leaders said protesters would not call off their sit-in and
bury their dead until they see official notification about steps
announced by Ashraf after day break. Local TV stations showed footage of
them still protesting.
The Prime Minister flew to Quetta on Sunday to listen to their
grievances and announced live on television that he had accepted all
their demands, including the sacking of the provincial government and
the suspension of its legislature.
"We have decided to impose governor's rule in Baluchistan for two
months, the provincial government will be sacked," Ashraf said after
offering his condolences to grieved families.
AFP
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