Machh tragedy: PM Imran Khan promises to visit Hazaras 'very soon'

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday told the members of the Hazara community that he stands with them in their time of suffering and assured them he would visit "very soon" but asked them to bury their loved ones.

The prime minister took to Twitter to assure the Hazara families that lost their loved ones in Machh that he was cognizant of their "suffering and demands".

"We are taking steps to prevent such attacks in the future and know our neighbour is instigating this sectarian terrorism," said PM Imran. He told the Hazara families that he shares their pain and reminded them that he had come to them earlier as well and stood by them during their "time of suffering".

The prime minister assured them that he would visit them 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," said PM Imran.

I share your pain & have come to you before also to stand with you in your time of suffering. 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.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 6, 2021

The tweets by the premier came as the Hazara families continue their sit-in following the brutal killing of 11 coal miners in Machh.

He also tweeted after a delegation headed by federal minister Ali Zaidi, sent by him, failed to convince families of the slain miners to bury their dead and not keep Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit a condition for their last rites.

The talks were held a day after Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s visit failed to end the protest.

The incident

Ten colliers were killed and four others seriously injured on Sunday after armed men attacked them at a coal field in Balochistan's Bolan district.

The coal miners, according to police, were taken to nearby mountains where they were shot.

The 10 miners were kidnapped before dawn on Sunday as they slept near the remote coal mine in the southwestern mountainous Machh area — 60 kilometres southeast of Quetta city, local government official Abid Saleem said.

Security officials who did not want to be named told AFP the attackers first separated the miners before tying their hands and feet and taking them into the hills to kill them.

Two of the miners were Afghans and their bodies have been sent to Afghanistan for burial, a local security official told AFP.

Officials on Monday clarified ten people had died in the attack, revising a previous death toll of 11, AFP reported.

The militant group Daesh has claimed the attack, according to SITE Intelligence, which monitors militant activities worldwide.