Pakistan

Mach massacre: Hazaras refuse to call off protest until negotiations with PM

  • On Sunday, unidentified militants killed 11 coal-miners while they were in their quarters.
  • The militant Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Published January 5, 2021

Thousands of Hazara community members continued their sit-in in Quetta, Balochistan on Monday night, demanding that the attackers of the massacre of 11 coal miners in Mach be arrested.

On Monday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid reached Quetta on Prime Minister Imran Khan's instructions and held a meeting with a delegation of the Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), who is leading the sit-in.

The protesters, however, remained adamant demanding the ouster of the government and a judicial probe into the tragedy. They also said the sit-in would continue till the visit of PM for negotiation so that practical steps be taken for the arrest of the killers.

Rashid said that the demands of the Hazara community would be conveyed to the PM. He asked the MWM leaders to form a five or seven members committee for a meeting with the premier in Islamabad.

The minister also announced that the families of the martyrs will be provided 1.5 million rupees by the provincial government and one million rupees by federal government as compensation.

On Sunday, 11 coal miners belonging to the Shia Hazara community sleeping in their room were held at gunpoint and blindfolded before being executed by unidentified attackers in the Mach coal field area.

The militant Islamic State group or Daesh has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Meanwhile, the counter-terrorism department of police (CTD) has registered a case against unknown militants. The case was registered at the Nasirabad police station on a complaint of Mach Police SHO Pir Bakhsh Bugti under Sections 302 and 324 Pakistan Penal Code and relevant sections of Anti-Terrorism Act, DAWN reported.

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