Traffic disruptions were reported in Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan,Khanewal,and multiple areas of Karachi once again on Thursday as protests and sit-ins against the killing of 11 shia. Protest in south Punjab entered the second day while in Quetta entered the 6th day.Hazara miners in Balochistan earlier this week continued for a third day in the metropolis.
Protests were ongoing since 9am at 20 locations in the city, according to a statement by the Karachi Traffic Police.
Members of the Shia Hazara community in Balochistan continued their protests on Thursday, braving long winter nights and freezing temperatures, while refusing to bury the 11 coal miners killed by militants over the weekend until Prime Minister Imran Khan personally visits them to assure their protection.
Protests continued for the third day at several locations in Karachi as well, with demands for the protection of the Shia Hazara community. Sit in observed in South Punjab's cities of Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kabirwala, Abdul Hakim,Muzaffargarh, and other cities.
The 11 miners were brutally massacred on Sunday when armed assailants entered the 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 cities in Punjab and Karachi, where demonstrators blocked several important roads, disrupting traffic.
“This is systematic ethnic cleansing of Hazaras in Balochistan and our security forces are behaving like lame ducks, doing nothing,” said Zainab Ahman, an activist among the mourners.
“We want a decisive action and the arrest of all those who killed our people,” Daud Agha, a Shia leader told reporters in Quetta. “We are sitting with the bodies of our dear ones here and we will bury them only when Imran Khan comes”.
“My 18-year-old innocent son, Ghulam Ali, was killed. They ruined my world by killing my son,” said Bibi Hameeda, crying.
According to a traffic official, Rangers and police have also been deployed to assist the traffic police and ensure law and order in these areas. Commuters were advised to use alternative routes while those travelling out of Karachi were asked to use the Lyari Expressway or Northern Bypass. meanwhile, operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were also affected due to the protests, according to a statement from PIA.PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan said traffic congestion on the routes towards the Jinnah International Airport caused difficulty for passengers and staff trying to reach the airport.Multiple PIA flights from Karachi to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Faisalabad were either cancelled or delayed by a few hours, according to the PIA, while an international flight, PK-213 from Karachi to Dubai, was also delayed by an hour and a half.The airline advised passengers to stay in contact with its call centre for flight updates and to set out for flights well before time.
A spokesperson for the Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen, which is also taking part in the protests, told media yesterday that the protestors, including women and children, were there only to express solidarity with the families of the Mach victims.
“They are peaceful and only seeking their constitutional right,” he said. “The protests have been joined by people from all walks of life and beyond their sectarian or political association. They all are united in these testing times for Hazara community. We demand the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan to play their due role before it’s too late.”
This was the third day of protests in Karachi against the Balochistan killings with families and supporters of the slain miners also continuing their sit-in for a fifth straight day in Quetta, demanding justice and refusing to bury the dead unless the premier visits them.
On Sunday, armed attackers slit the throats of 11 miners in a residential compound near a mine site in Balochistan's Mach coalfield area, filmed the entire incident and later posted it online. The gruesome attack was claimed by the militant Islamic State group.