-Govt committee, protest organizers ink accord
-Govt assures high-level probe, revision of security protocols
-Premier leaving for Quetta to console kin of victims
-Hazaras agree to bury slain miners
Bureau Report
QUETTA: Following a series of rounds of talks, the martyrs’ committee of the slain colliers of the Hazara community, late Friday agreed to call off their six-day sit-in, on the assurance that Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit and ensure their demands are met.
The agreement came after the last round held between the committee members and Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri and Ministers Ali Zaidi, and Zulfi Bukhari.
Minister Ali Zaidi announced the decisions taken at the meeting in which all demands of the Hazara community have been met and said the incident was not only tragic for one community but in fact shocked the entire nation, regardless of their sect and religion.
He said for the progress of the country, it was vital that all communities live together with peace and harmony, so as to foil the designs of the enemies who want to create chaos.
Announcing the agreement signed by both sides, he said that a special commission would be formed under the chair of the provincial home minister.
“Strict action will be taken against officials found responsible of negligence,” he said adding that the commission would include two members of the provincial assembly, a DIG rank official and two representatives from families of the Machh martyrs. The Balochistan government would provide a compensation of Rs1.5 million to the families of each slain coal miners.
The TORs of the agreement is also revealed, which included the special commission would probe attacks on the Hazara community during the past 22 years besides also investigating the missing persons in the community. A new security plan would be enforced after a review by the security forces and the Balochistan government.
The passport and other related issues would be resolved on a priority basis for the Hazara community by DG NADRA while the government would also create employment opportunities for the members of the community. It was reported that Prime Minister Imran Khan was ready to leave for Quetta to meet with the relatives of the coal miners.
According to details, the prime minister’s plane is ready to leave for Quetta and he would leave as per his promise as soon as the negotiations succeed. A government team headed by Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri and Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Ali Zaidi has reached the site of the sit-in in Quetta to hold talks with the protestors.
Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier in the day extended his full support to the Hazara community and again assured the provision of necessary security.
He asked them to bury the dead, who were killed in a terrorist attack in Mach on Sunday, January 3, in District Bolan, Balochistan. Since that day their family, friends, joined by thousands of protesters across the country have been demanding the arrest of the perpetrators and security for the Hazara community. The spokesperson of the Balochistan government Liaquat Shahwani said all demands of the protesters have been accepted by the government. Prime Minister Imran Khan would be visiting Quetta soon to meet the bereaved families. The Hazara community had staged a sit-in at the western bypass in biting cold for the past six days. Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan thanked the mourning families for agreeing to bury their loved ones.
“We will try our utmost to serve you better,” he said, adding that the system that does not have justice as a foundation does not prosper. “You have honoured us and Balochistan by agreeing to our request (for the burial of the slain miners),” Jam Kamal said, adding that PM Imran Khan, COAS Gen Bajwa will visit for condolences.
Earlier Friday, the prime minister said that the protesters were informed that he will visit once they bury those slain in the attack. “I am using this platform to say that if you bury them today, I will go to Quetta to meet the families of the deceased’’.
“This should be clear. All of your demands have been met but you can’t impose a condition which has [no logic]. So first, bury the dead. If you do it today then I guarantee you that I will come to Quetta today.” PM Imran’s remarks come as Balochistan’s Shia Hazara community continue its protest for the sixth straight day on Friday, refusing to bury those who were brutally killed over the weekend.
On Sunday, armed attackers had slit the throats of 11 miners in a residential compound near a mine site in Balochistan’s Mach coalfield area, filming the entire incident and later posting it online. The gruesome attack was claimed by the militant Islamic State group. Since then, thousands of Hazaras have staged a protest along with coffins containing the miners’ bodies in the western bypass area in Quetta, while members of the community have also held protests in other cities across the country.
Braving the biting cold, the mourners, including women and children, have refused to leave until the premier visits and the killers are brought to justice. At the start of his address, the premier stated that the Hazara community has faced “the most cruelty”. He said that the killing of the 11 coal miners in Mach was part of a conspiracy that he has been highlighting “since March”.
“I had informed my cabinet and then gave public statements on this: India is trying its level best to spread chaos in Pakistan,” he said, adding that this was focused on fanning the flames of sectarianism. “I laud our intelligence agencies on the fact that they thwarted four major terrorist events. Despite this, a high profile Sunni aalim was killed in Karachi with great difficulty we managed to quell the flames of a sectarian divide.” He added that as soon as the Mach incident took place, he first sent Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and then two federal ministers Ali Haider Zaidi and Zulfi Bukhari to speak with the mourners and assure them that the government stood with them.
“We know, me especially, the kind of cruelty they have faced.”
‘PM ready to go when bodies are buried’
Addressing a press conference a little while later, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the premier would travel to Quetta to meet with the grieving families as soon as the victims were laid to rest.
“It is Imran Khan’s wish that he goes there and he is ready to go, there is no obstacle in him going,” said Rasheed, adding that the premier wanted to hold a “detailed discussion” with the Hazara community once the victims are buried “so all issues can be resolved and decided peacefully”.
“It is not about burials, it is about certain situations,” he explained. “If the prime minister goes there and the crowd is removed and security in involved, that can also cause conflict and the corpses may get disrespected so it is better to go in an organised manner,” he added. The interior minister also lamented that the issue was being politicised. “There is a lot of time for politics, the next three months in this country are for politics,” he said, adding however, that politics should not be done on the issue of burial of martyrs. “As soon as this issue is resolved, the prime minister will depart from here for them,” he reiterated.
Talking about the launch of the authority, PM Imran said that Pakistan had failed to give incentives to the IT sector. “Even during the pandemic, the companies that gained were from the IT sector. So we have been left behind.” He said that purpose of the technology zones was to provide incentives to the industry so that it can provide job opportunities to the youth and up the country’s exports. “The IT sector can play a huge role in this.”
“I hope that this step will become an opportunity for the IT sector to boost our exports. We are also hoping for foreign investment in this regard,” he said.
