PESHAWAR: Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) provincial president Razim Khan has urged the government to ensure early retrieval of the labourers buried under debris of a mine in Quetta and compensate the families of the deceased persons.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, he said several workers went missing in a coalmine at Harnai but the government was least bothered to pay proper attention to retrieval of the bodies. He said relatives of the workers were in mental shock.

Mr Khan said eight of the missing workers belonged to Karo Dara area of Upper Dir, adding some of them had been dug out, but the pace of work was too slow. He said the government was not taking action against the contractors, who sent workers in the thousands of feet deep underground mine without giving them safety kits.

Razim Khan urged the government to announce a financial package for the victims’ families and stop exploitation of workers at the hands of mine companies in Balochistan and other parts of the country.

“Had the contractor given safety kits and necessary training to the workers the incident would have never taken place,” he observed. The workers of PWF, he warned were ready to start protest demonstrations if government failed to compensate families of the deceased mineworkers.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...