Pakistan mourns Quetta attack deaths

Record ID: 83800

  • Title: Pakistan mourns Quetta attack deaths
  • Date: 25th October 2016
  • Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PAKISTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER, CHAUDHRY NISAR ALI KHAN, STANDING AT CEREMONY OF PASSING OUT OF POLICE CADETS VARIOUS OF POLICE CADETS STANDING TO ATTENTION, PARADING AUDIENCE WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) INTERIOR MINISTER, CHAUDHRY NISAR ALI KHAN, SAYING: "It is a sad occasion, a sad day for the entire of Pakistan. Another sad and painful incident took place last night in Quetta. As a result, precious lives were lost, a large number of people were martyred. Today, on the one hand, the people in Quetta are carrying coffins, on the other hand efforts are being made for the medical treatment of those who were injured." AUDIENCE SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) INTERIOR MINISTER, CHAUDHRY NISAR ALI KHAN, SAYING: "Let us pray for the departed souls of the martyrs and the early recovery of the injured." NISAR AND POLICE OFFICIAL PRAYING NISAR PRAYING NISAR GIVING TROPHIES TO POLICE CADETS CARS PASSING THROUGH SECURITY BARRIERS POLICEMAN CHECKING TRUNK OF CAR POLICEMAN BODY SEARCHING MOTORCYCLISTS POLICEMAN SEARCHING THROUGH MOTORCYCLIST'S BAG POLICEMAN HOLDING GUN WHILE STANDING GUARD ON STREET LAHORE, PAKISTAN (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) POLICE VEHICLE PATROLLING POLICEMAN BODY SEARCHING MAN OUTSIDE COURT LAWYERS AND PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) UNIDENTIFIED LAWYER, SAYING: "Who are these foreign forces eating up our country like white ants? Now, it is the responsibility of our government to unveil them. We should also have the awareness of whose hands we are allowing to play with us." KARACHI, PAKISTAN (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) TAXI DRIVER, MOHAMMAD RAMZAN, SAYING: "This is very sad. Pakistanis are in shock after hearing this news. We strongly condemn it. Our people are standing shoulder to shoulder with our forces." TRAFFIC ON STREET
  • Embargoed: 9th November 2016 09:04
  • Keywords: Pakistan Quetta reaction interior minister Lahore Islamabad Karachi attack deaths mourning
  • Location: ISLAMABAD, LAHORE, KARACHI, PAKISTAN
  • City: ISLAMABAD, LAHORE, KARACHI, PAKISTAN
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00155I5KCN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Pakistan was in mourning on Tuesday (October 25), a day after at least 59 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a Pakistani police training academy in the southwestern city of Quetta and took hostages.
    More than 200 police trainees were stationed at the facility when the attack occurred late on Monday (October 25), officials said. Some cadets were taken hostage during the attack, which lasted five hours. Most of the dead were police cadets.
    "It is a sad occasion, a sad day for the entire of Pakistan. Another sad and painful incident took place last night in Quetta," said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday before offering prayers.
    Militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the assault, the deadliest in Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed 70 people in an attack on mourners gathered at a hospital in Quetta in August.
    But Pakistani officials earlier said another Sunni extremist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), was probably behind the raid.
    Security was tight in all major Pakistani cities, and people on the streets condemned the attack.
    "Who are these foreign forces eating up our country like white ants? Now, it is the responsibility of our government to unveil them," said an unidentified lawyer in Lahore.
    "This is very sad... Our people are standing shoulder to shoulder with our forces," said a taxi driver in Karachi, Mohamman Ramzan.
    Pakistan has improved its security situation in recent years but Islamist groups continue to pose a threat and stage major attacks in the mainly Muslim nation of 190 million.
    Islamic State has sought to make inroads over the past year, hoping to exploit the country's growing sectarian divisions.
    LeJ, whose roots are in the heartland Punjab province, has a history of carrying out sectarian attacks in Baluchistan, particularly against the minority Hazara Shias. Pakistan has previously accused LeJ of colluding with al Qaeda.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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