The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on Sunday January 3 targeting Shia Hazara miners in Mach coal field, 100 miles from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Eleven coal miners, asleep in their rooms were held at gunpoint, blindfolded and trussed up before being executed by the Islamic state militants.
Prime Minister Imran Khan termed the attack “yet another cowardly inhumane act of terrorism” and “ordered the Frontier Corps to use all resources to bring the killers to justice and assured families of the victims that they would not be left abandoned by the government.”
However, protestors have gathered for the last few days in Quetta demanding justice. “We will not end our protest until the arrest of all the assassins,” chief of Balochistan Shia Conference, Agha Daud said. The latest wave of killings will spread to other cities including Quetta if a decisive action is not taken at this stage.”
While Pakistani officials have often denied the presence of the Islamic State inside Pakistan, the group has claimed several attacks in the past including a bombing at a vegetable market in 2019.
