Pakistan PM reaches Quetta to meet families of Hazara victims
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On Sunday, a group of armed and unidentified gunmen had broken into a coal mine in Mach, a town near Quetta, and had opened fire on members of the minority community
The Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has reached Quetta on Saturday, a few hours after 11 coal miners from the Hazara community — who were brutally killed — were buried.
Khan is expected to meet the family members of the victims today. This visit has come a day after he had accused the families of the victims of "blackmailing" him into getting a visit from the PM.
On Sunday, a group of armed and unidentified gunmen had broken into a coal mine in Mach, a town near Quetta. The gunmen had specifically dragged out ethnic Hazaras — who are members of the Shia community — and had shot them dead.
After the attack, locals had taken to the streets to protest against the inability of the Pakistan Government to protect their own citizens from terrorist organisations.
The family members of the victims had then refused to bury the dead bodies and had placed the coffins on a highway in Quetta, demanding a visit from the PM before the burial. Khan, however, had accused them of "blackmailing" him and had demanded that the families bury the dead bodies if they want a visit from him.
Khan's opposition had questioned his motives and had blamed him for the rising violence in the country. "The man (Imran Khan) who has become prime minister with the blessings of a few generals can never feel the pain of the masses. The oppressed people of the Hazara community are waiting for the man who is calling them `blackmailers`," former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said.