Machh massacre (January 2021)

Machh is a small town, located 60 KM southeast of Quetta city in the Pakistani province of Balochistan⁸. Machh has over 60 coal mines that attract thousands of coal mine workers from Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Afghanistan since its discovery during British rule⁹. Hazaras have a long history, since the British Raj, of working at coal mines in Machh which had resulted in small neighborhoods of Hazaras in Machh township.

All the victims were in a mud room, the victims’ residential quarter¹⁰, in Gishkery. The terrorist entered the room in the early hours of Sunday morning. All the victims were held at gunpoint and tied their hands in the back¹¹. They were shot as well as their throats were slit^{12 13}.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack by announcing it on Amaq news and Telegram¹⁴. The report shows armed men with ISIS flag on dead bodies of the victims ^{15 16}.

The Hazaras staged a sit-in ¹⁹ in various parts of Quetta city. The protestors blocked the western bypass highway by placing the bodies on the road ^{20 21}. The protestors demanded justice and the arrest of the perpetrators ²². The weather in Quetta falls below zero and protestors include women and children as well ²³. The protest continued for six days and ended after their demands were met by Government²⁴.

In support of the Hazaras, protests were staged in other cities, like Karachi, Lahore²⁵, and Kargil ²⁶.

04 January 2021