Karachi
January 9, 2021
Infuriated by Prime Minister Imran Khanâs statement that equated the demand of Quetta protesters for his visit with âblackmailing the premierâ, Shia groups and the Hazara community expanded their protest sit-ins against the Machh tragedy to more locations in Karachi, blocking multiple major roads in the city that resulted in not only massive traffic jams but also clashes between protestors and commuters.
Eleven miners of the Shia Hazara community were brutally killed before dawn on Sunday while they were asleep near a remote coal mine in the mountainous area of Machh in Balochistan. The Islamic State (IS) claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Young boys hold up placards outside the KPC. Fahim Siddiqi/Shakil Adil/White Star
KARACHI: “The zulm that was done to our people, even animals don’t do this to their foes. This genocide must stop now,” a visibly shaken Hazara woman said at the protest condemning the Mach massacre on Tuesday outside the Karachi Press Club.
The emotionally charged protest was organized by the residents of Hussain Hazara Goth in solidarity with the victims of the Mach coal mine attack where 11 Hazara Shia miners were brutally murdered. The Islamic State group, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh, claimed responsibility for the killing.
Protesters block a road in Karachi on Wednesday. DawnNewsTV
Several roads in Karachi were blocked on Wednesday as protests continued for a second day and spilled over to different areas of the metropolis against the killing of Shia Hazara miners in the Mach area of Balochistan earlier this week.
Television footage showed plumes of smoke rising as demonstrators took to the streets, burning tyres and wood and disrupting traffic.
According to a police update, today s protests, which were organised by the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), were happening at several places across the city, including Abbas Town, Abul Hasan Ispahani Road, Kamran Chowrangi at Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Power House Chowrangi in North Karachi, M. A. Jinnah Road, Sharea Faisal and Malir 15. One track of the Sharea Faisal was also closed for traffic, according to the update.