ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan for not visiting Quetta to share the grief of the bereaved families of the Hazara community.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said it was the duty of the prime minister to visit Quetta and assure the members of the Hazara community that the killers of their loved ones would be brought to justice at the earliest.

“The entire country is noticing the PM’s absence in Mach, Balochistan, but he is nowhere to be seen. Condemning the incident on Twitter is not enough. He needs to be there on the ground with the Hazara community,” Sherry Rehman said.

Refutes govt’s claim of sugar price reduction

She pointed out that thousands of people from the Hazara community had been sitting in the freezing weather for three days with the bodies of their loved ones.

Instead, the PPP leader regretted, the bereaved families saw ministers asking them what benefit will it give to Imran Khan if he comes here. “The audacity of these statements is not lost on anyone,” she remarked.

“Isn’t he the same person who was attacking the government in 2013 for a terrorist attack on Hazaras? What happened now? Is the opposition responsible for this also? It is the duty of the PM to be with his people in the time of their grief. Where is the PM of Pakistan when his citizens are waiting for him?” she asked.

Imagine the severity of what they are going through that they have not buried their loved ones yet and all this “incompetent government” could do was to offer them monetary relief, she added.

Ms Rehman said this was the time to be with them and share their pain. She wondered what was keeping the prime minister and the chief minister of Balochistan away from visiting the Hazara community and noted that their absence was only making things worse.

She said the continuous violence in Balochistan was a cause of concern and a national action plan was needed to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

“Article 9 of the Constitution states that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law. It is clear that the government has failed and has been unable to ensure safety of the Hazara community,” she said.

Ms Rehman also criticised the prime minister for his claim about reduction in sugar price. Days after the prime minister’s claim of bringing down sugar price to Rs81 per kilogram, it was being sold for Rs100 per kg.

She said the sugar price stood at Rs55 per kg in December 2018, but regretted that it had registered almost two-fold increase after the “sugar mafia came to power”.

Meanwhile, in an informal chat with reporters, PPP leader and former interior minister Rehman Malik observed that not only the prime minister but members of his cabinet should also visit Mach to heal the wounds of the Hazara community.

Mr Malik said he had been warning for quite some time that Balochistan would become a victim to hybrid proxy war. He said terrorists were operating from India and Afghanistan. He said it was yet to be seen as to what steps the government takes to obviate such incidents in future.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2021