I aim to end sectarian discord across the world, PM says in Quetta
QUETTA: Prime Minister Imran Khan, while trying to clarify the delay in his visit to Quetta to meet the families of Machh tragedy victims, said on Saturday that when he last visited the Balochistan capital [in the aftermath of a similar incident] it was different because he was an ordinary citizen and not a prime minister.
"I told them, [federal government's team] I would come but when you put conditions then it sets a precedent," he said while addressing the Hazara community in Quetta.
“I aim to end the Shia-Sunni discord throughout the world... look how our government is trying to thaw tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” he said.
The premier said that the intelligence agencies had told him that India wanted to stir sectarian violence in Pakistan and it would target Shia and Sunni scholars.
The prime minister had earlier arrived in Quetta to meet bereaved families of the Machh victims as the Hazara community buried coal miners brutally murdered by unknown assailants last week. Da’ish had claimed responsibility of the gruesome incident.
The prime minister left for Quetta on a special flight from the Nur Khan airbase. Federal ministers including Interior Minister Shiekh Rashid were accompanying the premier.
“Our intelligence agencies foiled three major plots to attack Shia and Sunni clerics,” he said, adding that the Machh incident was part of that ‘grand scheme’.
"There are 35-40 people who are doing this… believe me when I say this that we have our plans in place. We will set up a cell only for these people. We will go after them," he added.
Also read: Hazara mourners agree to call off Quetta sit-in, bury slain miners
PM Imran said that upon hearing the tragic news, he immediately sent his team to the aggrieved so that they could feel that the federal government was with them. "I wanted to tell them [Hazara community] that we will go after ‘these elements’. We wanted to take the families and the community into confidence. The state will provide you protection."
He said that he was in touch with his team and federal agencies throughout the duration of Quetta sit-in, adding that his government, all security agencies and entire Pakistan felt the pain of Hazara community.
Imran Khan said that it is his mission to unite the Muslim Ummah so such incidents do not occur. "We all know who want to divide us. I even tried to improve relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran," he added.
Upon arriving in Quetta earlier in the day, the premier held a high-level meeting with the Balochistan authorities including Chief Minister Jam Kamal and Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai. Commander Southern Command, Lt General Sarfraz Ali was also present on the occasion.
Earlier, funeral prayers of Machh victims were offered at the Hazara graveyard in Quetta.
Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Federal Minister, Ali Zaidi, Provincial Ministers and leaders of different political parties and a large number of people attended the funeral prayers.
Late Friday night, the government negotiators led by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and including Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi managed to persuade the Hazaras to call off their sit-in and bury the coal miners murdered in Machh earlier this week.
The families, who had been encamped on the Western Bypass, alongside coffins carrying the mortal remains of the slain miners, confirmed they had ended their protest after their demands were accepted by the government.
“All of our demands have been accepted,” a member of the Hazara Shuhada Committee told reporters in Quetta. “The families have decided to bury their martyrs,” he said, after the late-night talks between the protesters and senior government functionaries in Quetta.
According to the agreement, the government will take action against those responsible for negligence in the Machh incident. A high-level commission, led by the provincial home minister, has been formed for investigation in this regard.
The agreement stipulates that the Balochistan government will pay Rs1.5 million compensation to the heirs of each martyr as well as provide employment.
Last Sunday, 11 colliers, from the Hazara community, were slaughtered purportedly by the Islamic State terrorist group in the Machh area of Bolan district. Since then, the relatives and supporters of the community had been holding a vigil alongside the coffins of the victims.
The protesters had demanded that they would not end their sit-in and bury the dead until the prime minister comes to give them personal assurance that targeted killings of the ethnic Hazaras, who are predominantly Shias, would end.
The announcement of the agreement came hours after Prime Minister Imran once again made an impassioned appeal to the bereaved community not to make burials conditional to his visit, saying that a prime minister could not be “blackmailed” for such a visit.
(With additional input from News Desk)