At least 52 people were killed and dozens more injured on the evening of June 23rd, 2021, after a powerful bomb exploded in a religious procession in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta. Officials say the blast was caused by a remote-controlled device that was planted near a religious gathering of Hazaras.
The attack occurred just after shorts of a play were over, as people were exiting the gathering. Witnesses said that the blast, which shattered windows and caused buildings to shake, was so powerful that the dead and wounded were scattered across the street.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, though officials in the region that the high death toll was deliberate, indicating it was likely to have been a targeted attack on the Hazara community. The attack follows a series of attacks on the Hazara minority in the region, which have been blamed on extremists and sectarian elements.
The Pakistani government has vowed to bring those who were behind the attack to justice and is in contact with the affected families to investigate what happened. Members of the Hazara community have staged a sit-in outside Quetta to protest the ongoing violence against them, calling for the government to act to ensure their safety.
