A sad day for Shangla. Though the mine blast that claimed 48 lives took place in the Sorrange area of Balochistan, most of the miners were the sons of Malakand. Before going into the statistics, greed of the contractors or the bureaucratic inefficiencies that caused the ghastly accident, one would do well to imagine the trauma an incident of this scale would have caused back home. During the world wars, the enlisted men of many villages and small towns in Britain would insist on being part of the same regiment. The result: entire towns were bereaved after lost battles.
To segue into the crisis itself, the reason for gradual Pashtun upward mobility is an admirable work ethic, even more so in the unskilled and semi-skilled fields. And also because of an ability to work in conditions others wouldnt. It is the same story whether one looks at the construction sites in the Gulf states or industrial units here in Pakistan. And at mines all over the country. This willingness to work in all conditions, coupled with the mine contractors penchant to cut corners while providing for safety precautions in the work place, leads to some extremely dangerous work conditions. It is the job of the state to step in and prevent this. Simply because a worker is willing to work in conditions that are deemed to be unfit for humans doesnt mean he or she should be allowed to.
The provincial mines department had already issued a written warning to the mines contractor about the methane gas that had accumulated in the area. The mining, however, went on unabated. Where was the enforcement apparatus of the government that ensures compliance with department directives? At the time of the blast, there wasnt even enough adequate rescue gear. The mines in the country are dreadfully under-regulated, at least functionally. The state should not let the free market decide everything.
