Taylor Hill-Getty Images North America—AFP
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls on Islamabad to bring perpetrators to justice.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged Pakistan to move quickly to protect religious minorities following an attack that killed at least 43 members of the Shia Ismaili community.
The Islamic State group officially claimed the attack in Karachi. Ban condemned “in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack” and called on Pakistan to bring those responsible to justice.
He urged the government to “take swift measures aimed at effective protection of religious minorities in the country.”
Pakistan has experienced a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, particularly against Shia Muslims, who make up around 20 percent of the country’s predominantly Muslim population of 200 million.