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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Quetta on Saturday on a day-long visit to the city, hours after ten coal miners from the Hazara community who were brutally killed in an attack in Machh were laid to rest.
Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, Provincial Ministers and other high ranking officials received the Prime Minister at the airport. During his visit, he will meet the bereaved families of the martyrs of the tragic Machh incident.
The prime minister was accompanied by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur. Governor Balochistan Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan held a meeting with the Prime Minister. Commander Southern Command, Lt. General Sarfraz Ali was also present on the occasion.
The prime minister will also chair a high-level meeting in which the aftermath of the Machh incident and the law and order situation of the province will be reviewed.
Funeral prayers for the coal miners were offered earlier today after the deadlock between the government and the protesters came to an end a few hours ago. The prayers were led by Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in Quetta’s Hazara Town with close to 5,000 people attending including the relatives and friends of the deceased and local residents of the area.
Federal Maritime Minister Ali Zaidi, Special Assistant to the PM Zulfi Bukhari, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Provincial Home Minister Mir Zia Langove and other provincial ministers and civil society leaders were also present on the occasion. A prayer service will be held in Imambargah Wali Asr after the burials at the Hazara Town Cemetery.
The protestors had earlier refused to bury the deceased unless the prime minister visited and addressed their concerns but even eventually agreed to bury the deceased after successful negotiations with a government tea Balochistan CM Jam Kamal had announced yesterday that the premier will reach Quetta after the burials of the miners.
