PM Khan decided against visiting Quetta, upon aides' advice

ISLAMABAD: After the slaughtering of 11 coal miners of the Hazara community in the Mach area of Balochistan last Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan's refusal to meet the bereaved families of the victims sparked controversy.

As reported by Dawn, background information from the Prime Minister's aides has revealed that he wanted to rush to Quetta soon after the incident, but was advised to wait until the situation normalised.

Furthermore, it was also reported that the premier's "blackmailing" remarks came under the pretence that the demands to visit Quetta basically came from the leaders of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), and that the opposition fanned the flames to gain political mileage on the sensitive issue.

The Prime Minister's aides added that the premier was of the opinion that once he accepted the demands for visiting Quetta prior to the burials, it would become a precedent and everyone, having any grievances, would “blackmail” him in future.

The first recommendation to not visit Quetta came from Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed during a cabinet meeting, in which he urged the Prime Minister to refrain from visiting Quetta for at least two days as the sentiments of the protesters, who were staging a sit-in with the bodies of the deceased, were quite high and any “unpleasant” incident could take place.

An adviser to the Prime Minister stated that "I and Fawad Chaudhry were the first two cabinet members who opposed the idea of Sheikh Rashid in the cabinet meeting and urged the prime minister to pay a visit to Quetta without any delay", adding that the opposition was instigating the protests, and that “In this situation they [killers] might be dancing as their purpose has been served.”

According to sources close to the Prime Minister, for the first time in over two-and-a-half years, the ruling government was unable to justify the premier's remarks, and remained unable to adequately defend why PM Khan had asked the Hazaras not to “blackmail” him.

Spokesperson for the Prime Minister Kanwal Shauzab said the premier had not called the Hazaras “blackmailers”, but rather those who were instigating them (Hazaras), adding that certain security concerns also had to be taken into consideration.

Shauzab added that "The prime minister was also concerned about the demand for restoration of blocked ID cards and passports of those inhabitants of Hazara who are actually Afghans and got these documents illegally. So it’s not just the issue of killings, but some other sensitive issues are also involved".