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Monday, January 14, 2013

Pakistan Shi'ites stop Quetta protest after PM sacks minister

By Gul Yousufzai

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Shi'ite Muslims protesting over one of Pakistan's deadliest sectarian attacks called off their three-day-old sit-in early on Monday after Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf visited them and agreed to some of their demands.

Shiite Muslims gather to protest against last Thursday's twin bomb attack in Quetta, in Lahore January 13, 2013. Protests against attacks on Shi'ites spread across Pakistan on Sunday as the prime minister flew to the western city of Quetta to meet mourners who refused to bury their dead until the government promised them better protection from Sunni militants. REUTERS/Mani Rana
Shiite Muslims gather to protest against last Thursday's twin bomb attack in Quetta, in Lahore January 13, 2013. Protests against attacks on Shi'ites spread across Pakistan on Sunday as the prime minister flew to the western city of Quetta to meet mourners who refused to bury their dead until the government promised them better protection from Sunni militants. REUTERS/Mani Rana

Ashraf told leaders from the Shi'ite Hazara community that the federal government had sacked the chief minister of Balochistan province, one of the protesters' main demands.

(Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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