Pakistani provincial government released after attacks in Quetta

Pakistani provincial government released after attacks in Quetta

Quetta - After days of protests, the Pakistani government has replaced the leadership of the Baluchistan province in the southwest of the country. The local head of government had been dismissed and the governor of Baluchistan take over the reins of government.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the prime minister said in a televised address. Security forces will also launch an operation against militant extremists who committed on Thursday a bloody attack in the provincial capital Quetta.

In attacks on a billiard hall in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood inhabited at least 86 people were killed. Thousands of Shiites demonstrated on Sunday on the third day in a row to protest the violence and with the coffins of their slain members blocked a road.

They called for more religious freedom and the resignation of the provincial government. The Prime Minister was on Sunday traveled to Balochistan to move the protesters to abandon their blockade.