At least 11 Pakistani miners from the Hazaras minority group have been abducted and killed and four others injured in the early hours of The New York Times on Sunday. reports.
The Times notes that the Hazares are often targets of Sunni extremists, as they had faced repeated attacks in the past. The attackers have not been identified and no group has claimed responsibility for the killings.
Officials said the incident took place in the small mining town of Machh in Baluchistan province, the largest and least populated of Pakistan’s four provinces. The victims’ hands were tied to their backs and they also received shots nearby. Their throats were also cut, the Times reported.
Hazara activist Ali Raza received the bodies of the miners in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.
“His forehead clothes were almost completely stained with blood,” Raza told the Times. “Body contusions also suggest they were dragged.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attacks on Twitter and called them “another act of cowardly and inhuman terrorism.”
The condemnable killing of 11 innocent coal miners in Machh Balochistan is another cowardly act of inhuman terrorism. I have asked the FC to use all resources to capture these killers and bring them to justice. The families of the victims will not be abandoned by the government
– Imran Khan (mImranKhanPTI) January 3, 2021
“The families of the victims will not be abandoned by the [government,]” added.
The attacks sparked protests on Sunday by members of the Hazara community, who blocked a road in Quetta, the Times reports. The bodies of the miners were placed on the road while protesters called on the authorities to fulfill their promise of safety for their community.
Local Hazara leader Haji Jawad said of the killings: “It is an attempt to sabotage peace in the province and provoke sectarian conflicts.”