Tag: coal miners

  • PM reaches Quetta after burial of slain Hazara miners

    PM reaches Quetta after burial of slain Hazara miners

    After a week-long protest by the Hazara community in the freezing cold of Quetta, Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived in the provincial capital to meet the families of the slain Hazara coal miners.

    The Hazaras blocked a highway in Quetta and refused to bury their dead after gunmen kidnapped 11 miners in Mach region of Bolan district and slit their throats. The killings sparked protests across Pakistan, with the protesters demanding the PM to visit the heirs of the deceased. However, the PM said he would only visit after the burial of the slain miners and called the protest a “blackmail”.

    Following days of talks, the protesters on Friday night agreed to bury the dead bodies on the condition that the PM will come to Quetta and listen to their demands. The agreement cited by a media outlet says that the Balochistan government will pay Rs1.5 million compensation to the heirs of each martyr as well as provide employment.

    The funeral prayers held in Quetta ahead of the PM’s visit were attended by the Maritimes Minister Ali Zaidi, PM’s aide on overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari, provincial ministers and others. The deceased were buried in the Hazara graveyard.

    PM IN QUETTA:

    Finally, Imran Khan has reached Quetta. He is accompanied by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed and other cabinet members. The PM will meet the families of the miners and the religious leaders of the Hazara community. The provincial authorities will also update him on the Mach incident.

    A report by Dawn says that the PM had initially decided to visit the Hazara on the day of the killings; however, he was dissuaded by his aides, including Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed who said that the PM should wait till the situation gets normalised.

  • Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    After Afghanistan asked Pakistan to return the bodies of the Afghan citizens who were killed in an attack on Hazara coal miners in Mach, Balochistan, Chief Minister Jamal Kamal has asked people to cooperate.

    In a letter to the Foreign Ministry’s Camp Office in Quetta dated Jan 5, the Consulate General said: “As you know, in the terrorist incident that took place in Mach area of Bolan district of Balochistan province by the anti-governments and joint terrorists of the two countries, seven Afghan citizens are among the victims.”

    It said that the heirs of “three martyrs have requested that their dead bodies be transferred to Afghanistan”. “Therefore, your esteemed office is kindly requested to contact the relevant authorities to grant permission for transferring the mentioned three corpses via the Chaman-Spin Boldak Corridor.”

    In a tweet, CM Kamal wrote: “Afghanistan Government has asked Govt of Pakistan to hand over bodies of their three Hazara Community citizens whose heirs have requested Govt of Afghanistan. Therefore, we request the people to cooperate with us in this matter as requested.”

    11 coal miners, who belonged to the Hazara community, were killed by the terrorists in a sectarian attack in Mach, Balochistan, last week.

    The families of the slain miners are protesting for the past five days against the killings on Quetta’s Western Bypass. They have refused to bury their dead till the in person security assurances from the prime minister. But the PM has refused to visit, saying he will come to condole with them very soon.