Hazara community ends sit-in after successful negotiations with Govt
Protesters also agreed to bury the slain coal mine workers after reaching agreement with government.
QUETTA (Dunya News) - Protesting Hazara community agreed to end sit-in at Quetta s Western Bypass and bury the slain coal mine workers after reaching an agreement with the government on late Friday night, Dunya News reported.
According to sources, the representatives of the Martyrs Committee announced the burial of the martyrs after talks with the Government Committee headed by the Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan.
Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfi Bukhari were other members of the Government committee.
Sources also revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan is also expected to leave for Quetta very soon to meet the families and relatives of the victims of the slain coal miners.
Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider 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.
Attached are demands + written agreement offered by the Govt.
— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) January 8, 2021
Although, no one can ever put a value on human life, but for info, the agreed compensation is much higher than what the agreement says.
Q: If all is agreed, then who is playing politics with bodies of the martyrs? pic.twitter.com/2OEnJVaavT
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.
Ali Zaidi said officials responsible for the security lapse have already been suspended, and a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to probe the incident. He said the government has also directed law enforcement agencies to review their security plans.
The Hazara community had staged a sit-in, along with the coffins of their martyrs at Quetta Western Bypass in biting cold for the past six days. They refused to bury them till the Prime Minister personally assured them security and met their demands.
Following the talks, an official source confirmed that Prime Minister Imran Khan would be visiting Quetta soon to meet the members of the bereaved families.
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.
Chief Minister Jam Kamal thanked the bereaved families for accepting their request for the burial of those killed in the terrorist attack. He said the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff would be visiting Quetta to review the law and order situation and meet the affected people.
Earlier the spokesperson of the Balochistan government Liaquat Shahwani said all demands of the protesters have been accepted by the government and the committee has agreed to end the sit-in.
Following the successful talks and end of the Quetta sit-in, the Majlis-e-Wehdat-e-Muslimeen and other organizations holding sit-ins at several major cities and towns also ended their protest. The road closures led to the cancellation of around 50 domestic and international flights from Karachi international in the past few days.
