Pakistan PM orders Quetta security operation

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ordered a security operation in response to the weekend bombing that targeted minority Shia and killed 89 people in the south-western city of Quetta.

The government also replaced the top police officer in the surrounding Baluchistan province.

Soon after the announcement, Shia Muslim leaders in Quetta said they would end three days of demonstrations. Protesters had refused to bury the bombing victims until the army took control of the city and launched an operation against sectarian militants attacking them.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office announcing the operation provided no details about who would carry it out. Radical Sunni militants have stepped up attacks against Shias over the past year because they do not consider them to be real Muslims.