Islamabad, Pakistan

Thousands of mourners gathered in Pakistan Saturday for the burial of 10 miners who were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Advertisment

Pakistani officials have notably long denied the presence of Islamic State in the country, but the group has claimed a number of attacks including a bombing at a market in 2019.

These deaths had then sparked an outcry over the lack of protection for workers, leading to countrywide blockade.

A six-day protest by the Shiite Hazara community over the killings in the country's restive southwest was finally called off late Friday after they reached an agreement with the provincial government of Balochistan. Authorities on Friday promised the arrest of the attackers, payment of compensation to the bereaved families and better security for the Hazaras.

Advertisment

This also comes in the wake of reports that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to travel to Quetta on Saturday.

More than 4,000 people attended the last rites of the dead miners whose bodies were laid to rest amid tight security six days after their deaths. According to AFP, mourners chanted slogans of "down with terrorism and arrest the culprits".

Shiite protesters numbering up to 3,000 had blocked a road on the outskirts of Quetta demanding personal assurances by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Advertisment

The said 10 miners from the minority community were kidnapped by gunmen from a remote colliery on Sunday before being taken to nearby hills where most were shot dead, while some were beheaded.

Ethnic Hazaras make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies. They are sometimes considered easy targets for Sunni militants who consider them heretics.

The community's refusal to bury the bodies was a symbolic protest in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where according to Islamic culture people should be buried within 24 hours, before the next sunset.

The deal also called for setting up a high-level commission headed by Balochistan's home minister to investigate attacks against the Hazara community in the past 22 years.