(People grieve beside the coffins of their relatives, victims of Saturday’s bomb attack in a Shi’ite Muslim area, during their funeral ceremony in the Pakistani city of Quetta February 17, 2013. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed )
Pakistani Shi’ites called on the military on Sunday to take control of the city of Quetta after a bombing by Sunni militants killed 85 people, and threatened to stage a long march to the capital if their demands were not met.
Pakistani leaders have done little to contain hardline Sunni Muslim groups which have stepped up a campaign of bombings and assassinations of minority Shi’ites in a bid to destabilize the nuclear-armed country and install a Sunni theocracy.
The unpopular government, which is gearing up for elections expected within months, faces growing anger for failing to deliver stability.
On Saturday, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), seen as the most ruthless Sunni sectarian group, claimed responsibility for the Quetta attack, which deepened suspicions among Shi’ites that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies were turning a blind eye to the bloodshed or even supporting extremists.
