Minority communities in Balochistan facing increasing pressure to migrate

islamabad — Nearly 30,000 members of Balochistan’s Hazara community have migrated to other parts of the country in the last five years in the wake of a surge in violence in Balochistan compelling members of minority groups to seek shelter in other parts of the country.

According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Vice-Chairperson Tahir Hussain Khan, the flow of migration increased as nearly 1,000 members of the Hazara community have been killed in targeted attacks since 2009.

Khan, who is also president of the HRCP’s Balochistan chapter, said that more than 10,000 Hindus have also fled the province as abductions for ransom have become a routine over the last three years.

Members of the Hazara community leaving Quetta and other parts of the province comprise businessmen, highly educated workers and senior government officials, he said.

Discussing sectarian violence in the province, Khan warned: “This conflict can turn into a civil war if it is not addressed properly at this stage.”

The Hazara community has been confined to two localities in Quetta, within a four-kilometre radius on Alamdar Road and the Hazara Town. The provincial government has set up security checkpoints around these residential colonies.

“They are physically isolated from the rest of the city’s population,” he said.

“They do not know how long they will continue to be confined in such a way.”

He pointed to the growing presence of religious parties in the country as a possible reason for increasing sectarian conflict. Within classrooms school syllabi create rifts between students of different faiths and sects.