Thousands of Hazara community members along with families and relatives of ten slain miners, who were shot dead in Machh area of Kachhi district on Sunday, continue their sit-in on Quetta’s Western Bypass with dead bodies on the sixth consecutive day (Friday).
The latest round of negotiations between government representatives and organisers of sit-in protests also remained unsuccessful. The sit-in protesters are still awaiting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrival in Quetta to meet the bereaved families of victims of Machh coalmine massacre.
Earlier on Wednesday, leaders of various political parties reached Quetta to express solidarity with the families and relatives of ten slain miners who were shot dead in Machh area of Kachhi district on Sunday.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri reached Quetta to express solidarity with the bereaved families.
Meanwhile, one of the organizers of sit-in protest Syed Raza Ali has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to come to Quetta to meet with and reassure the bereaved families of the victims.
He said that the families of have brought themselves the dead bodies of coal mine workers and are sitting here in the sit-in pretest at their own free will, not under any pressure.
Agha Raza, one of the organizers of the sit-in said that the sit-in was not organized by anyone, adding, “We are the voice of the people and the sit-in was called at the request of the families of the slain miners.”
He said that the families of slain miners were voluntarily sitting with the bodies and vowed to continue their sit-in until Prime Minister Imran Khan reaches Quetta and make an announcement.
Earlier, some armed men took the coal miners belonging to Hazara community to nearby mountains in Machh and opened fire and killed 10 of them. After news of the incident broke, security agencies arrived at the coal mine and cordoned off the area and collected evidences.
