Quetta
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday met families of the slain Hazara miners in Quetta. The family members and mourners had sat on six-day anti-government protest after gunmen killed the miners on January 3. The horrific incident had elements of sectarian violence as the slain miners had been from Hazara community that has often been targetted.
The families had refused to bury the bodies of the miners until PM Imran Khan met them.
But the countrywide sit-ins began to disperse after the government and protesters reached an agreement late on Friday. It included security guarantees for the Hazaras and that mourners bury the bodies before the prime minister visited them.
As Khan met them, he told them the attack on the miners was meant to stoke conflict between the two major sects of Islam, Sunnis and Shi`ites, to destabilise Pakistan.
He also thanked the families for accepting the government`s request to bury the bodies.
Most of the miners were impoverished seasonal migrants. Seven were from neighbouring Afghanistan, its consulate said.
Imran Khan had drawn harsh criticism a few days ago after he alleged that there were attempts to "blackmail" him into meeting the families.
(With Reuters inputs)