The most overtly ruthless attacks are perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni supremacist jihadi outfit dedicated to wiping out minority Shias. Lashkar is particularly strong in Quetta, where the Shias are ethnic Hazaras, easily distinguished by their Central Asian features. In recent decades, sectarian militants have sprayed gunfire on Shia religious processions; flung bombs into crowded markets and snooker halls; and dragged Shia pilgrims off buses headed to holy sites in Iran to be executed on the roadside.
