QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) – Hundreds of Shiites from the Pakistani minority blocked an important highway on Monday outside the city of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan for the second consecutive day to protest the death of 11 coal miners by the group of the Islamic State.
The miners, members of the country’s minority Shiite Hazara community, were kidnapped by IS militants in southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday, taken to a nearby mountain and shot. Six died at the scene and five, seriously injured, died en route to the hospital.
The police video of the bodies revealed that the miners were blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs before being shot. The attack occurred near the Machh coal field, about 48 kilometers (30 miles) east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
The Sunni militant group has repeatedly targeted Pakistan’s Shiite minority in recent years. The IS took over quickly after the miners were kidnapped.
Protesters brought the coffins containing the miners’ bodies to the Quetta highway on Monday, insisting that they would not be buried until authorities arrested the killers. According to Islamic tradition, burials take place as quickly as possible after death.
The crowd of about 1,000 said they would continue the demonstration until their demands were met. Authorities say they are still trying to locate and arrest the attackers and that police raids are underway in the area.
Authorities held talks with Shi’ite leaders to convince the Hazara 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 that they will guarantee our protection. We have never received protection in the past. We want the arrest of the murderers of our people, ”said Daud Agha, a leading Shi’ite leader.
The miners ‘deaths were widely condemned across the country, with Prime Minister Imran Khan promising that the victims’ families would be cared for and that the perpetrators would face justice.
Pakistan’s Hazara community has been targeted many times in recent years by Sunni militant groups, including the Islamic State group. ISIS has also declared war on the Shiite minority in neighboring Afghanistan and has claimed a series of deadly attacks across the region since its emergence in 2014.
A suicide bombing at an outdoor market in Quetta in April 2019 killed 20 people. At the time, ISIS said it was targeting Shiites and elements of the Pakistani army.
Last January, IS took responsibility for a powerful explosion that destroyed a mosque in Quetta during night prayers. The blast killed a senior police officer and 13 others, as well as injuring another 20 worshipers.
The province of Baluchistan, Pakistan, in recent decades has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists who demanded more autonomy and greater participation in the region’s natural resources, such as gas and oil.