GENEVA, Switzerland, March 2 (UPI) -- Sectarian conflict in Pakistan could tear the country apart if the government doesn't take immediate security actions, a panel of U.N. experts warned.
Attackers dressed in military fatigues allegedly attacked a bus in northern Pakistan this week, leaving at least 18 Shiites dead. More than 30 people were killed in a separate attack in a Shiite neighborhood in northwest Pakistan in mid-February.
A panel of U.N. independent experts warned that sectarian violence could get worse in Pakistan if the government doesn't take decisive action.
"These killings are extremely shocking and constitute acts that require the strongest response," Rita Izsak, a U.N. expert on minority issues, said in a statement from Geneva.
The United Nations welcomed statements of condemnation from Islamabad but called on the government to do more to confront security issues related to religious identity in the country.
"These targeted killings once more display the appalling degree of religious hatred in a country where there seems to be a failure to protect the security of religious minorities," said Heiner Bielefeldt, U.N. special envoy on freedom of religion or belief.
