Pakistan's sectarian tensions




Inside Story show

Summary: A bomb attack on Shia Muslims in Pakistan's Balochistan province has killed more than 80 people and injured almost 200 others. Almost a tonne of explosives tore through a crowded market in a largely Shia neighbourhood in Quetta in southwestern Baolochistan. This was the second major attack this year. Shia community leaders say the Pakistani government is not doing enough to protect them, and is unable or unwilling to take on those responsible. To discuss Pakistan's sectarian tensions, Inside Story with presenter Jane Dutton is joined by guests: Abdul Khalique Hazara, the chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, representing Shia muslims in Pakistan; Stephen Cohen, a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution; and Zaid Hamid, a political analyst and head of the Pakistani think tank, Brasstacks.