Mach killings

For the vulnerable Hazara community of Quetta, peace only comes in short periods of time during a reign of terror that spans decades, and continues unabated. Terror revisited the vulnerable religio-ethnic community yesterday when armed men kidnapped 11 coal miners in Mach area of Balochistan, took them to nearby mountains, and opened fire at them from close range. Six of the miners died on the spot and five others on way to hospital. Sadly, Hazaras are forced to live a life of fear. They have nowhere to hide from terrorists as their faces speak of their identity – in fact, their faith, which can be exploited easily to sow the seeds of discord and disrupt peace and harmony in the country. Their distinct facial features make them a visible target of the misguided elements that are playing in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan.

In fact, Balochistan has been the focus of recent development activities related to the multi-billion dollar CPEC project that is rightly billed the gateway to prosperity for Pakistan. Thus, no wonder this resource-rich province that is fast coming on track for high-tech development is also the focus of the nefarious designs of our enemies. While the country’s internal security situation has generally improved in recent times, there has been rather an uptick in the incidents of terrorism in Balochistan in which both security personnel and citizens have been targeted. Just about a week back, on December 27 to be exact, seven FC soldiers were martyred in a gun attack on an FC post in Harnai district of Balochistan. Before that, on October 16, seven FC soldiers and as many private security guards were martyred in an encounter with terrorists while they were escorting a convoy of the state-run OGDCL in Ormara. And the latest violence comes in the form of this callous killing in Mach.

This surge in violence at a time when the country is faced with serious challenges is troubling. While the officials should, as an immediate measure, tighten security – in particular, to guard the residential colonies and worship places of Hazaras – they should also focus on ways and means to douse separatist tendencies among our own countrymen.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2021.

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