Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pakistan Bus Lines

Better get off at the next stop if the Globe is your travel agent.

"25 killed in attack on Shi’ites in Pakistan" September 21, 2011|New York Times

ISLAMABAD - Gunmen in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan attacked a bus carrying Shi’ite pilgrims to Iran yesterday, killing at least 25 people and wounding six, local police officials said....

Hours after the attack, Lashkar-i-Jangvi, an extremist Sunni group that authorities say carried out previous attacks against Shi’ites in Baluchistan, claimed responsibility for the attack on the bus. The group is believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda.... 

I'm sorry, readers; however, having read papers long enough I recognize an intelligence agency false flag when I see it.

Attacks on Shi’ite pilgrims traveling to Iran through Baluchistan have been frequent over the past decade. Two such attacks occurred last month. A year ago, 57 people at a Shi’ite rally in Quetta were killed by a suicide bomber.

Shi’ites are a minority in Pakistan, whose population is mainly Sunni Muslim. In Baluchistan, most Shi’ites belong to the Hazara ethnic group, who are also numerous in Afghanistan and Iran.

I'm not saying these people never had their beefs with each other; however, they have lived for centuries in relative peace -- until we got there!


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"Bus crash in Pakistan kills 26 children, two teachers" September 27, 2011|Associated Press

ISLAMABAD - At least 26 schoolchildren and two teachers were killed in a bus accident in Pakistan yesterday, police said.

The bus was returning from a school trip to a salt mine popular with tourists when it plunged into a ditch, according to investigators....

Preliminary investigation indicated that the vehicle’s brakes had failed, according to local news reports.

Pakistan has one of the world’s worst records for deadly traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles, and reckless driving.

At least seven children were killed in June when their bus fell into a canal in Pakistan-held Kashmir. 

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw the word Kashmir in the paper.

Yesterday’s accident was one of two deadly bus crashes in the region.

In southern Afghanistan, a bus collided with a minivan just outside Kandahar city, killing eight people and wounding more than a dozen others, police said.   

Globe sure gets around on the bus.

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"13 killed in bus attack in Pakistan" October 05, 2011|By Salman Masood, New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Gunmen opened fire on a bus in southwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 13 Shi’ite Muslims and wounding seven, officials said.

Here we go again.

The attack took place on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, and appeared to follow what is becoming a pattern in which Sunnis belonging to the extremist sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the region attack minority Shi’ites, who are mostly members of the Hazara ethnic group.

Yesterday morning, attackers riding in a pickup truck intercepted the bus carrying mostly Shi’ite day laborers traveling to a market. The gunmen forced non-Hazara passengers to get off the bus, then opened fire on the people remaining inside, said Abdul Khaliq Hazara, chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party.

The wounded were taken to a hospital in Quetta.

The laborers earn about $2.30 a day.

“They are extremely poor people,’’ Hazara said.

The episode set off protests by Shi’ites, who condemned the government for failing to ensure their safety. The bus was set on fire by enraged protesters at the hospital where the wounded had been taken. Protesters also blocked the main highway on the outskirts of Quetta.

Yesterday’s shootings came nearly two weeks after gunmen attacked a bus in Baluchistan carrying Shi’ite pilgrims to Iran, killing at least 25. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for that attack, which took place about 30 miles south of Quetta.

Attacks on Shi’ite pilgrims traveling to Iran through Baluchistan have been frequent. A year ago, 57 people at a Shi’ite rally in Quetta were killed by a suicide bomber.  

And who benefits if a wedge is driven between Pakistan and Iran?

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This is my stop, readers.