Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his sympathy with members of the ethnic Hazara community protesting against the killing of 10 coal miners in a targeted attack last week, but has referred to a demand that he visit them before they bury their dead as “blackmail”.
Hundreds of ethnic Hazara protesters, members of a community that has faced more than 20 years of targeted attacks that have killed hundreds, have been blocking a highway in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, since the attack took place on Sunday.
The 10 miners were apprehended by gunmen at a coalmine, identified as belonging to the Hazara community and then executed, security officials say.