January 4th, 2021
By Asim Ahmad Khan
QUETTA
It is deathly cold in Quetta, but the families of the 11 coal miners who were shot and killed on Saturday, continue to sit-in to protest the massacre. Those who were killed belonged to the Hazara Shia community which has been subjected to terrorism and target killings for the past many years. They shout for justice and the protection of their community.
These miners were kidnaped and brutally killed near the coal mine on Saturday. The attackers, after identifying the miners in their residential quarters, isolated them, tied their hands and feet and brutally killed them with a sharp instrument.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the incident in a statement issued via a telegram sent to the Amaq news agency. Amaq is IS’s first point of publication for claims of responsibility by the group.
The first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered after a delay oif two days. Worse perhaps, no government representative came to even talk to or condole with the murdered miners’ family members at the sit-in.
Government representatives, including the Chief Minister, are limited only to condemning the incident on social media.
Speaking to Voicepk.net, the Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said that security forces have now cordoned off the area immediately after the incident and are conducting a search operation. He said that the province was facing a new wave of terrorism, but the accused will be brought to justice.
On the other hand, on the call of the Balochistan Bar Council on Monday, all lawyers’ organizations have boycotted the court proceedings across the province.