The forsaken miners of Balochistan

The neglect of the mine blast story in particular, and Balochistan in general, makes accountability impossible.

At the start of the year, I wrote a piece making some not-entirely-serious predictions for 2011. Among my guesses: “In a repeat of the Chilean miners’ story, the world’s media will turn its attention to 15 workers trapped in a mine in Pakistan. They will lose interest when it turns out none of the miners are members of the Taliban.”

Turns out I was wrong. It is technically impossible for the media to lose interest in a story when it never has any to begin with. The blast at a coal mine at Sorrange, near Quetta on March 20, should have had everyone rapt with attention. There was tragedy: Spread over the course of two days, because of a mounting death toll, it transpired that 45 miners had died in the mine after an explosion. There was evidence of corruption: The mine was owned by the government-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and had been subleased to a private contractor. The contractor had been given a warning, just two weeks prior to the explosion, that the mine was dangerous and that adequate safeguards should be put in place, but nothing was done.

Firstly, there were no sexy visuals of photogenic families praying valiantly. The mine was 4,000 feet deep and the blasts were caused by methane gas explosions, so there were also no World Trade Centre-style images of people jumping to their certain deaths. In short, there wasn’t any opportunity for sensationalism.

Then, the tragedy took place in Balochistan, which might as well be ‘over there’, as far as the rest of the country is concerned. For all we know, Balochistan is an enclave of fierce tribesmen and fiercer landlords. Certainly nothing that should have the level of government and media resources poured into it, as the other provinces. Since most of Balochistan’s problems cannot be traced back to the Taliban, there is also no international aid to be scooped by exploiting its problems and miseries.

The neglect of the mine blast story in particular, and Balochistan in general, makes accountability next to impossible. With such scant focus on the original time, no one is going to have any inclination to doggedly pursue the story. There are many questions that need to be asked and answered. Which government agency or individuals were responsible for allowing the coal mine to continue operations, even after the chief mines inspector declared it unsafe? Exactly what safety conditions was the contractor violating and will it now be barred from operating other mines? Have the families of the dead miners been paid compensation and will the case be pursued in court? Most importantly, are the other hundreds of mines in the province, and indeed the country, following work-safety regulations?

Right now, the only question that can be answered is the final one. The answer is a resounding ‘no’. Mine accidents that take lives in the single figures, receive even less attention than the blast in Sorrange. But there are dozens of them each year. One newspaper reported that there were over one hundred accidents in Balochistan’s mines over the last three years. Most of these accidents took one or two lives and so were easily ignored. Even 45 deaths, it seems, will not be enough to awaken authorities from their stupor.

The only story about Balochistan’s mineral resources that has been deemed worthy of scrutiny is the battle over the control of copper and gold in Reko Diq. The tragedy at Sorrange might, now, convince some that the ownership of the potential windfall Reko Diq will provide the government of Balochistan, is slightly less vital than the safety of those who will work there. Or is that far too optimistic a wish?

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2011.