QUETTA: Senate Committee for Human Rights Chairman Senator Nawaz Khokhar on Monday said that miners and colliers were facing hazardous complications in Balochistan due to insufficient resources and lack of modern machinery.
There is a dire need to review and amend repaying policies for the poor miners and labourers, Senator Nawaz Khokhar said in a meeting held on Monday regarding Human Rights. The compensation amount for miners martyred in the mine areas should be more than Rs500,000, he added.
Senator Jahanzeb Jamaldeni, Senator Usman Khan Kakar, Senator Sana Jamali, Balochistan Chief Secretary Aurangzeb Haq, Home Secretary Ghulam Ali Baloch and Balochistan Police IG Moazzam Jha Ansari were also present.
Nawaz Khokhar said that for efficient mining, modern machinery was a need of the hour and provision of all basic life facilities in those mining areas was the government’s prime responsibility. He added that the chief engineer of mines department should visit mines areas and see the deplorable living conditions provided to miners, who do not have clean water, housing facility, and healthy food.
Senator Usman Khan Kakar stressed provincial and district management to construct rescue centres and hospitals in the mines areas. He added that it was sad to know that mining was being done in remote areas of the province, but hospitals were constructed in Quetta city for treatment of labourers and mineworkers.
IG Moazzam Jha Ansari and Brigadier Zahid during the meeting briefed and discussed all details with the Senate committee regarding peace and security measures in Balochistan.
They said that police and FC personnel had been deployed in the Hazara community areas in Quetta and regular security check-up systems were operating at all routes to their residential areas.
Hazara Pilgrims, who travel from Quetta to Taftan, were being provided full protection and police and FC squads travelled along with their buses, they said.
Frontier Corps Brigadier Zahid said that FC and other law enforcement agencies were taking concrete measures for restoration of peace and security in Balochistan and held successful search operations on daily basis at terrorist camps and recovered a large number of arms and ammunition from them.
Senator Nawaz Khokhar applauded the sacrifices rendered by security forces in Balochistan in the ongoing war on terrorism.
