10 Coalminers Abducted and Killed in Gashtari area of Mach

Ayaz Khan

Quetta: 10 coal miners working in Balochistan’s Mach area were abducted and killed here on Sunday.  Offshoot of Islamic State (ISIS) Pakistan chapter has claimed the responsibility of killing coal miners who belonged to Hazara Community.  The coal miners were workers of a coalmine lying around 50 km off to Quetta city.

All victims belonged to the Hazara ethnic minority. Families of victims kept the bodies on the highway and staged a sit-in in protest while demanding justice from the government.

Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the incident terming it a cowardly act by the terrorists. “Have asked the FC to use all resources to apprehend these killers and bring them to justice. The families of the victims will not be left abandoned by the government,” PM said in his tweet.

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The latest incident against the Hazara minority has renewed the wave of unrest in the province. In May 2018, the community had staged a five-day protest after the killing of two shopkeepers belonging to the Hazara minority.

CM Balochistan condemns the attack

Through his tweet, Chief Minister Balochistan said that all authorities had been ordered to investigate and take action in order to bring perpetrators to justice. However, a slip tongue sparked a wave of criticism when CM Jam Kamal Khan mistook Gashtari, the area where victims were brutally killed, for Splinji.

However, Jalila Haider, a well-known activist standing for the rights of the Hazara community, showed indifference to knowing or not knowing the name of places by CM. But she advised CM that if he knew the names of places of Balochistan accurately, it would increase his grace as CM.

Hazara community continues to protest

The blockade of the highway has entered its second day. The community has refused to bury the bodies unless the killers are brought to justice. Interior minister, Sheikh Rasheed, has arrived in Quetta to meet the families. Before meeting with families, the minister has chaired a high-level huddle here in Quetta today. However, sources have confirmed that protesters have refused to accept the request of the interior minister to end the protest and have demanded that Prime Minister Imran Khan should visit Quetta himself.