Govt Suspends Pilgrimage Route In SW Pakistan

Islamabad, Jan 25, IRNA – The government of Pakistan after the killing of 30 pilgrims coming from Iran in south western Balochistan, suspended the route for pilgrims, a media report said on Saturday. ‘Express Tribune’ said that a senior official of the provincial government told media, “We have temporarily suspended the movement of buses on the highway until the security situation improves.” The 700 km (430 mile) highway connecting the Quetta and Iran, has seen dozens of suicide and roadside bomb and gun attacks on pilgrims in recent years. The route is popular among Shia pilgrims, who travel via buses into neighboring Iran and then onto Iraq and the holy sites of Karbala. In the latest attack on Tuesday, a suicide bomber had driven his car into a bus killing 30 pilgrims. The attack prompted hundreds of Hazaras, who inhabit Quetta, to take to the streets to protest against the violence./end