2021 Machh attack

{{Infobox civilian attack

|title = Machh attack

|image =

|caption = Machh

|partof = the insurgency in Balochistan, Sectarian violence in Pakistan, and the persecution of Hazara people

|location = Machh, Balochistan, Pakistan

|date = 3 January 2021

|type =

|fatalities = 11

|injuries =

|perp = {{flagdeco|ISIL}} Islamic State – Pakistan Province

|weapons =

|motive = Anti-Shi'ism, Islamic extremism

}}

On 3 January 2021, a group of Islamic State (IS) militants killed 11 Hazara coal miners after kidnapping them in Machh, Balochistan, Pakistan.{{Cite news|last=Yousafzai|first=Gul|date=3 January 2021|title=Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Pakistan's Shi'ite Hazara minority that kills 11|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-killings-minority-idUSKBN2980HH|access-date=3 January 2021}}

The attack

The miners were on their way to work when the gunmen ambushed and dragged them into the nearby mountains.{{Cite news|date=2021-01-03|title=Pakistan coal miners kidnapped and killed in IS attack|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55522830|access-date=2021-11-26}}

All 11 miners were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs before having their throats slit. Video of the miners' murders shows the dead men strewn out on the floor of a village hut. The victims were members of the minority Shia community.{{Cite web|agency=Reuters; AP|author=Syed Ali Shah|date=2021-01-03|title=At least 11 coal miners shot dead in Balochistan's Mach area after being kidnapped|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1599441|access-date=2021-11-26|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}

Protests

Not long after the attack, Hazaras blocked roads and burned tires in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. They gathered to protest the terror attacks on them and to demonstrate their minority rights. They demanded that the Prime Minister visit them and personally assure them that justice would be served in the case of the lynched miners.{{Cite web|last=Ahmed|first=Khaled|date=2021-01-06|title=Killing Hazaras in Pakistan|url=https://www.newsweekpakistan.com/killing-hazaras-in-pakistan/|access-date=2021-11-26|website=www.newsweekpakistan.com|language=en-US}}

A demonstration organized by the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in Karachi continued for three days at over twenty locations in the city.{{cite news |title=Karachi roads blocked as Machh protests enter third day |url=https://www.samaa.tv/news/2021/01/karachi-roads-blocked-as-machh-protests-enter-third-day/ |work=SAMAA TV |date=January 8, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Traffic disrupted as protests against Hazara killings continue at 20 sites in Karachi |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1600207/traffic-disrupted-as-protests-against-hazara-killings-continue-in-karachi-for-3rd-day |work=Dawn |date=January 7, 2021}} Balochistan's Shia Hazara community continued a sit-in protest with the dead bodies for six straight days on Quetta's Western Bypass, refusing to bury the murdered miners.{{cite news |title=Hazaras continue Quetta protest on 5th day, refuse to bury slain miners despite PM's request |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1600204 |work=Dawn |date=January 7, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Hazaras sit-in protest with dead bodies of slain miners enters 5th day |url=https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/581860-Hazaras-sit-in-protest-with-dead-bodies-of-slain-miners-enters-5th-day |work=Dunya News |date=January 7, 2021}}

Government action and burial

The government ordered the law enforcement agency to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice, with Prime Minister Imran Khan denouncing the murders as "an inhumane act of terrorism".{{cite news|last=Gul|first=Ayaz|date=3 January 2021|title=Gunmen Kidnap, Execute 11 Miners in Pakistan|work=Voice of America|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_gunmen-kidnap-execute-11-miners-pakistan/6200251.html|access-date=3 January 2021}}{{cite news|date=3 January 2021|title=Pakistan: Gunmen kill 11 minority Hazara coal miners in Baluchistan|work=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-gunmen-kill-11-minority-hazara-coal-miners-in-baluchistan/a-56119522|access-date=3 January 2021}}

The Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad also visited the families of the victims and assured them that the culprits involved in the attack will be brought to justice at all costs. He expressed condolences to the families of victims and announced compensation for them.{{cite web|date=5 January 2020|title=Sheikh Rasheed announces compensation for victims of Machh incident|url=https://arynews.tv/en/sheikh-rasheed-compensation-machh-incident/|work=ARY News}} The attack was also condemned by Afghanistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan stated that seven Afghan Hazaras were among the 11 miners who were killed.{{cite web|date=4 January 2021|title=The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing of 10 coal miners in Baluchistan, Pakistan, and says seven of them were Afghan citizens.|url=https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/1346155245756424194|work=TOLOnews}}

On January 9, 2021, the miners were buried at Hazara Town cemetery in Quetta.{{cite news |title=Slain miners laid to rest in Quetta's Hazara Town |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1600574/slain-miners-laid-to-rest-in-quettas-hazara-town |work=Dawn |date=January 9, 2021}} The same day, Imran Khan reached Quetta where he met the families of the murdered miners.{{cite news |title=PM Imran visits Quetta, meets families of slain Hazara miners |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1600587/pm-imran-visits-quetta-meets-families-of-slain-hazara-miners |work=Dawn |date=January 9, 2021}}