Two senior officials transferred over killing of Hazara coalminers

Balochistan CM directs authorities to ensure fool-proof security in the province

QUETTA:

Amid the ongoing protests hold by the Hazara minority community over killing of 11 coalminers, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Thursday removed deputy commissioner and senior police official of district Kachhi from their posts.

Thousands of protesters blocked the Quetta’s key western bypass since Sunday after the coalminers were brutally executed by Islamic State terrorists at a residential compound near a mine site in Machh area of district Kachhi, some 100km away from the provincial capital.

The two senior officials have been removed for their failure to ensure security in the area and prevent the vicious attack from taking place.

CM Kamal has directed the concerned officials to make all-out efforts to tighten the security in the province and expressed displeasure over the security failure.

On the direction of the CM, the Balochistan chief secretary has issued a notification of the removal of DC Murad Khan Kasi.

 

The development comes as protesters have continued their sit-in alongside coffins carrying the victims’ bodies for the fifth consecutive day and refused to bury them until Prime Minister Imran Khan personally visits them and addresses their grievances.

A day earlier, PM Imran urged the families of Machh massacre victims to bury their loved ones saying that he is “cognisant of their suffering and their demands”.

“I share your pain and 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,” the PM assured in a tweet.

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