Shi'ites bury bomb victims

Shi'ites had refused to bury the 89 killed by the second huge bomb attack in as many months in south-western city Quetta, complaining the government wasn't doing enough to protect them.

Tensions remained high at the mass funeral, suggesting promises of action made after 86 people were killed in a double-bombing on a pool hall haven't allayed Shi'ite fears.

The mourners lowered the white cloth-clad bodies of the victims into a long line of graves at the local Shi'ite cemetery.

A group of about 100 women related to the deceased tried to stop the funeral, demanding that the army intervene against Sunni militant groups who they feel act with impunity.

The women tried to block a nearby main road and relatives pelted police with stones, said community leader Qayum Changezi.

Police said they then fired into the air to disperse protesters, some of whom also shot the skies in anger.

The burial continued after the gunfire and protest quelled.

The government said on Monday that paramilitaries had begun on an operation against militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack.

And ministers replaced the chiefs of police in Quetta on Tuesday and the Baluchistan province in which it lies.

Pakistan's army is currently in a drawn-out battle with the Taliban and is thought to see other Sunni militant groups as less as a threat as they are not directly taking on the state.