Slain miners laid to rest in Quetta's Hazara Town

Published January 9, 2021
Mourners from the Shia Hazara community carry the coffin of one of the miners, who was killed in an attack by gunmen in the mountainous Machh area, during a funeral procession at a graveyard in Quetta on Saturday. — AFP
Mourners from the Shia Hazara community carry the coffin of one of the miners, who was killed in an attack by gunmen in the mountainous Machh area, during a funeral procession at a graveyard in Quetta on Saturday. — AFP
Mourners from the Shia Hazara community offer funeral prayers in front of coffins of the slain miners. — AFP
Mourners from the Shia Hazara community offer funeral prayers in front of coffins of the slain miners. — AFP
Women from the Shia Hazara community mourn for coal mine workers who were killed by gunmen near the Machh coal field, prior to their funeral in Quetta on Saturday. — AP
Women from the Shia Hazara community mourn for coal mine workers who were killed by gunmen near the Machh coal field, prior to their funeral in Quetta on Saturday. — AP

Ten coal miners from the Hazara community, who were brutally killed in an attack on January 3, were laid to rest at Quetta's Hazara Town cemetery on Saturday.

The prayers were led by Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in Quetta's Hazara Town with close to 5,000 people attending including the relatives and friends of the deceased, locals and residents of the area.

A photo posted by Instagram (@instagram) on

Federal Maritime Minister Ali Zaidi, Special Assistant to the PM Zulfi Bukhari, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Provincial Home Minister Mir Zia Langove and other provincial ministers and civil society leaders were also present on the occasion.

A prayer service was also held in imambargah Wali Asr after the burials at the Hazara Town Cemetery.

The protestors, who had earlier refused to bury the deceased unless Prime Minister Imran Khan visited them and addressed their concerns, continuing to stay on the road alongside the dead bodies of their loved ones for six days, eventually agreed to bury the deceased after negotiations with a government team succeeded in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Balochistan CM Jam Kamal and Suri had announced yesterday that the premier will reach Quetta after the miners' burials.

Mach tragedy

Eleven miners were brutally massacred on Sunday, Jan 3, when armed assailants entered their residential compound in the Mach coalfield area of Balochistan where they were sleeping, blindfolded and trussed them up before executing them. The militant Islamic State (IS) group, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Relatives and residents started their protest on the same day, arranging the coffins on the Western Bypass on the outskirts of Quetta and refusing to bury them in a symbolic gesture until the prime minister's visit and assurance of protection.

The protests later spread to other parts of the country, including Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi, where demonstrators blocked several important roads, disrupting traffic.

Soon after talks succeeded between the protesters and government, an announcement was made to end the protest in Quetta, while similar messages were played at gatherings in other cities as well.

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