January 17, 2021 The miners were held at gunpoint, blind-folded, with their hands tied behind their back. They were slaughtered one by one The first week of 2021 witnessed a gruesome incident involving the slaughtering of 10 innocent coalminers belonging to the Hazara-Shia community. The incident was followed by a dharna (sit-in) spanning over six days in the freezing winter of Balochistan. On the third day of January, over a dozen armed men entered a compound of coal miners in the early hours of the day. This compound was in Mach town, 70 kilometres south-east of Quetta. The miners were held at gunpoint, blind-folded, with their hands tied behind their back. They were slaughtered one by one. Without the slightest fear of repercussions, the perpetrators captured their barbarous acts on video and still pictures, which were later released on social media. The killers then left the crime scene with apparently assured impunity.