Nasir Mansoor, secretary of the party, said in a statement that most of the state owned coal mines in Balochistan are handed over to contractors who are paying little wages with no safety measures.

He said the miners are being exploited in many ways adding they are not allowed to form trade unions and no minimum wage is being paid to these workers.

He said the mine, where the recent mishap occurred, is run by state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation in Sorrange area near Quetta.

He said ten days before the fatal incident at the mine, the contractor was asked to close the mine because of the presence of methane gas that had posed a serious threat to the miners.

“The government must act now. We do not enquiry committees of this fatal incident; everything is clear in black and white. The government must pay a compensation of at least Rs.10 lakhs for each miner killed in this incident because of the negligence of the contractor,” demanded Mansoor.