Ten coal miners from the Hazara community, who were brutally killed in an attack a week ago, were finally laid to rest in Hazara town of Quetta on Saturday after their bereaved families finally called-off their protest after the government’s assurance. Thousands of people, including prominent politicians, attended the funeral prayers.
According to the details, a government team and members of the Hazara community who were protesting in Quetta finally came to an agreement late on Friday night, after which the protestors announced that they will call-off their protest and bury their dead. The dead bodies of the slain miners lay in coffins on the protest site on the western bypass of Quetta for the past week.
The decision was announced by the representative of the Shuhuda Action Committee Agha Raza at the Quetta sit-in. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal, Federal maritime Minister Ali Zaidi, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and special assistant to the prime minister of Pakistan Zulfi Bukhari were also present at the protest site at the time of announcement.
Announcing the decision to tend the protest, Raza said that the protest had been carried out on the wishes of the family members of the slain miners, and the decision to call-off the protest has been taken after their “satisfaction.”
“God willing, we will lay our martyrs to rest with complete discipline and reverence,” Raza said, adding that the government had agreed on the demands of the families of the deceased miners.
Addressing the gathering, the Jam Kamal Khan apologized to the family members of the killed miners and the Hazara community who had weathered six chilly nights on the roads alongside the dead bodies of their loved ones.
“I apologise on behalf of my government. We [the government] definitely were negligent in one way or the other and there is nothing wrong in apologising to our people, our nation”, he said.
NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri announced at the gathering that the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa will soon visit Quetta to condole with the families of the slain miners.
‘Don’t worry, we will look after you’
Per Suri’s announcement, the PM Imran Khan flew to Quetta on Saturday to meet the bereaved Hazara families. However, the army chief had not accompanied him on the visit.
In videos on social media, Khan can be seen interacting with the families of the slain miners, answering questions and showing affection for the Hazara children.
“Don’t worry, we will look after you”, Khan told a woman after she told him that the sole breadwinner of her family had been massacred and there is no one left to provide for the family.
One woman told him that he should have participated in their grief and this action could have touched the hearts of millions. Another woman told him that the Machh massacre was not the only incident that has happened with the Hazara community. She told him that many ministers in the past have come and gone and that he, Imran Khan, “were our sole hope.”
Speaking to the families, Khan said that he had visited the community in the past and is well aware of their plight.
Levelling the blame on India, he said that the intelligence had informed him that India intends to spread “anarchy” in Pakistan by engineering plots to assassinate Shia and Sunni, scholars. “I laud the Inter-Services Intelligence because they managed to preempt three or four plots to kill Shia or Sunni ulema”, he said.
He said that what happened in Machh is also a part of a “bigger game.”
The prime minister said that there are 35 to 40 “terrorists” who are spreading chaos in Pakistan. They were part of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and now they are a part of the militant Islamic State group.
Khan announced that a security cell is being made which will provide security to the Hazaras, and will pursue those who were behind that Machhh massacre.
Commenting on his controversial remarks urging the bereaved families to stop “blackmailing” him, Khan said that his comments were targeting the Pakistan Democratic Movement and not the family members of the slain miners. “You need to understand that things are different for a prime minister. When I was a regular citizen I came to visit you”, said.