by Muhammad Tahir
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Terrorists massacred civilians in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Monday in an apparent sheer frustration after many of them have either been killed or expelled from their bases in the country's lawless tribal regions as the result of military operations.
Officials confirmed that majority of those killed in the attack outside one of the main hospitals in Quetta, the provincial capital, were civilians, including lawyers, who gathered to protest against the killing of their local president, Bilal Anwar Kasi.
Kasi was shot dead in a separate terrorist attack minutes before the bombers hit the gathering of the lawyers.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Quetta that killed nearly 70 people and injured around 100, the group spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan said in a statement.
Lawmakers are calling for better coordination among all security agencies and the unity of political forces to defeat the terrorists.
Ghalib Khan, a member of the National Assembly from South Waziristan tribal region, says all political parties and segment of the society should set aside their differences to defeat those who are attacking people in hospital.
"The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has done a lot to deal with the terrorism and violent extremism. Now we all should forge unity to counter the remaining threat," the lawmaker told Xinhua in Islamabad late on Monday.
Although the militant groups have been deprived of their sanctuaries in their former strongholds and the security situation across the country has substantially improved, the terrorist attack in Quetta shows that they still have networks to plan and execute attacks in public places and to find soft targets.
Read the full story at Xinhua