By: Muhammad Hassan Hab
After the abduction and brutal murder of ten poor miners belonging to the Hazara community, the entire nation spent all this time from Sunday to Friday night in a state of great anguish as the Machh area came to a standstill. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the families of the martyrs and the men and women of the Hazara community, as well as hundreds of people who came to sympathize with them on this great atrocity, were holding sit-ins in Quetta despite the bitter cold to get their demands approved. ۔ The demands of the protesters included that the Prime Minister himself should come to the mourners and listen to them. The two federal ministers reached the spot and talked to the representatives of the Hazara community and took this position on the condition of being summoned by the Prime Minister. If this tradition is established, then the Prime Minister will be called in the same way on every such occasion. For men, women and children who spend nights with the bodies of their loved ones in the open in minus eight to ten temperatures, this attitude is as painful. It is not difficult to estimate. A security point was also made in favor of the government’s position. There was also a general perception that many of the protesters’ demands were totally unacceptable and that there was an outside force behind them
It wants to meet the demands of the people, but later all the demands were met. In such a sensitive and totally humane issue, this government’s behavior caused unrest across the country and in support of the demands of the Hazara community, sit-ins began in dozens of places in Karachi as well as in several major cities of the country. People inside the cities also faced severe difficulties in getting around, while the Prime Minister remained adamant that he would not go to Quetta before the burial of the bodies and the Prime Minister himself while addressing a function yesterday said in clear words. I said that the government has accepted all the demands of the Hazara community but the condition for calling me before the burial of the bodies is blackmail which cannot be accepted but I am ready to go to Quetta immediately after the burial of the slain. Despite growing unrest across the country, the Prime Minister’s insistence on not going to Quetta to offer condolences to the mourners before the burial of the bodies has caused a great deal of surprise and amazement across the country. Even according to media reports, several federal ministers tried to persuade the Prime Minister to go to Quetta before the burial of the martyrs but were unsuccessful. However, thank God that last night the talks between Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and the sit-in organizers were successful, all the demands of the Hazara community were accepted in a written agreement and the organizers announced to end the sit-in. Under the agreement, a JIT will be set up comprising the families of the martyrs and two representatives of the government. The federal and provincial governments and agencies will jointly draw up a security plan. A high-level commission has been set up to look into the incident. The provincial government will provide employment to the Shariah heirs of the martyrs. Implementation of this agreement in good faith and diligence without any hesitation is an essential requirement of national interest and honesty. It is hoped that the Prime Minister’s meeting with the mourners along with the Army Chief and the expression of sympathy will further improve the situation, but it must be considered whether the Prime Minister’s earlier arrival to express sympathy will lead to chaos in the country. Couldn’t save five days of anxiety.