QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) – Hundreds of Pakistani minority Shiites blocked a key highway on the outskirts of southwestern Pakistan’s Quetta city on Monday for the second day in a row to protest the killing of 11 coal miners by the Islamic State group.
The miners, members of the country’s minority Hazara Shah community, were abducted on Sunday by IS militants in southwestern Baluchistan province, taken to a nearby mountain and shot dead. Six died on the spot and five, critically injured, died on the way to the hospital.
Police footage of the bodies revealed that the miners were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs before being shot. The attack took place near the Machh coal field, about 48 kilometers east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
The Sunni militant group has repeatedly targeted Pakistani minority Shiites in recent years. IS quickly claimed responsibility after the miners were abducted.
Protesters brought coffins with the bodies of miners on the Quetta highway on Monday, insisting they would not be buried until authorities arrested the killers. Under Islamic tradition, burials take place as soon as possible after death.
The crowd of about 1,000 people said they would hold the meeting until their demands were met. Authorities say they are still trying to track down and arrest the assailants and that police raids have been underway in the area.
Officials held talks with Shiite leaders to persuade Hazaras to end the protest, as many at the rally, including women and children, wept over the miners’ coffins.
“Whenever terrorists kill our people, the government sends its representatives, saying they will provide us with protection. I have never received protection in the past. We want to arrest the killers of our people, “said Daud Agha, a prominent Shiite leader.
The killing of the miners has been largely condemned across the country, with Prime Minister Imran Khan promising that the families of the victims will be cared for and that the perpetrators will face justice.
The Pakistani community of Hazara has been targeted several times in recent years by Sunni militant groups, including the Islamic State group. IS has also declared war on minority Shiites in neighboring Afghanistan and has claimed a number of deadly attacks across the region since its inception in 2014.
A suicide bombing at an open-air market in Quetta in April 2019 killed 20 people. At the time, IS said it was targeting Shiites and elements of the Pakistani army.
In January last year, IS claimed responsibility for a powerful explosion that broke through a Quetta mosque during evening prayers. The blast killed a senior police officer and 13 others and injured 20 other worshipers.
Pakistan’s Baluchistan province has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists in recent decades, demanding more autonomy and a greater share of the region’s natural resources, such as gas and oil.