ISLAMABAD: Thousands of protesters from the Shia Hazara minority community in Balochistan continued a sit-in on Friday, saying they would not bury their relatives, killed by Daesh gunmen on Sunday, until Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the province and ensured justice.
Gunmen abducted a group of minority Hazara Shia coal miners and killed 11 on early Sunday, Pakistani officials said. The Daesh group later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its website. The militant group has repeatedly targeted Pakistan’s minority Shias in recent years.
Families of the victims placed the dead bodies on a road connecting Quetta with Sukkar on Sunday, but later moved them to the provincial capital where they have been sitting with the coffins on a major highway since. They demand that they will call off their sit-in only whenPM Khan visits Quetta to meet protesters.
A member of Khan’s cabinet, who declined to be named, said the PM’s plans to travel to Quetta were “not yet finalized.”
Bilalwal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Maryam Nawaz Sharif, vice president of the Pakistan Muslim-League Nawaz, on Thursday arrived in Quetta to meet with protesters.
On Wednesday, Khan urged relatives of the slain miners to end their protest and bury their loved ones, saying he would visit the mourners for condolences “soon.”
“I share your pain & have come to you before also to stand with you in your time of suffering,” the PM tweeted, addressing relatives of the deceased. “I will come again very soon to offer prayers and condole with all the families personally. I will never betray my people’s trust. Please bury your loved ones so their souls find peace.”
But the Majlis-e-Wihdatul Muslimeen, a Shia political group that is heading the protests, said the sit-in would be called off only when the PM came to Quetta.
Quetta is home to roughly 600,000 Hazara Shias, largely confined to two fortified enclaves.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing of the 11 miners, saying seven of them were Afghan citizens.
An official with the Levies Force, which serves as police and paramilitary in the area, told local media the gun attack took place near the remote Machh coal field, about 48 km east of the provincial capital Quetta.
Agha Syed Muhammad Raza, a senior leader of the Majlis-e-Wihdatul Muslimeen, said the victims had been blindfolded, with their arms and legs tied up, and were killed with knives.
“We have become tired of picking up the bodies of our people,” Syed Agha Raza, a Hazara political leader, told Reuters.
Masooma Yaqoob Ali said her elder brother along with four other relatives was among those killed.
“Now we have no male member [of our family] to take coffins of our brother and other relatives to the graveyard for burial,” she said, shedding tears as she spoke.
Mourners of slain miners continue sit-in with coffins in Quetta as protests enter sixth day
https://arab.news/4e8u6
Mourners of slain miners continue sit-in with coffins in Quetta as protests enter sixth day
- Opposition leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maryam Nawaz met with mourners from Shia Hazara community on Thursday
- Mourners and protest organizers say sit-in to be called off when PM Khan visits Quetta, PM’s plans not yet final
Pakistan, Bangladesh explore avenues for cooperation in railways sector
- Islamabad, Dhaka have lately been looking to strengthen institutional linkages to broaden cooperation amid thaw in ties
- Pakistan offers expertise in railway development, rolling stock and manufacturing to visiting Bangladeshi officials
KARACHI: Pakistani and Bangladeshi officials have discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the railways sector, including technical collaboration and capacity-building, the Pakistani railways ministry said on Saturday, as the two sides explore avenues to expand bilateral ties.
The statement came after a visit of Bangladesh’s Secretary for International Organizations Farhad Islam and High Commissioner to Pakistan Mohammad Iqbal Hussain Khan to the Pakistan Railways Workshop Division in Lahore.
It comes amid Islamabad’s efforts to rebuild relations with Bangladesh since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, with both countries looking to strengthen institutional linkages to broaden their cooperation.
The visiting Bangladeshi officials were welcomed at the Pakistan Railways headquarters and briefed on the overall functioning, technical capabilities and projects, according to the Pakistani railways ministry.
“The delegation was subsequently given a detailed tour of the Mughalpura Locomotive Workshop, where they were briefed on various stages of locomotive maintenance, rehabilitation, and manufacturing processes,” the ministry said.
“The distinguished guests termed their visit as highly informative, productive, and encouraging, and appreciated the technical expertise and professional competence of Pakistan Railways.”
Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until Bangladesh’s secession following a bloody civil war in 1971, an event that long cast a shadow over bilateral ties.
Both countries have moved closer since August 2024, following the ouster of Hasina who was considered an India ally. While Pakistan-Bangladesh ties warm up, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi remain strained over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.
A short documentary highlighting the working and operational strength of Pakistan Railways workshops was also presented to the Bangladeshi officials during their visit.
“Federal Minister for Railways, Mr. Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, remains fully committed to further strengthening bilateral relations with brotherly country Bangladesh, particularly in the areas of railway development, exchange of expertise, rolling stock, and cooperation in manufacturing sectors,” the railways ministry said.
“Minister has expressed his resolve to take forward railway-to-railway cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing that mutual collaboration in the railway sector can yield substantial benefits for both nations.”
