SHANGLA: With five coal miners killed during the last week, bodies of 22 miners were brought to Shangla district from parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in July, where they had died in coal mine incidents, while several others were injured.

According to Abid Yar, general secretary of the Shangla Coalmine Workers Association (SCMWA), four bodies were brought to different villages of Alpuri tehsil on Friday, and were buried in their ancestral graveyard.

The SCMWA spokesperson said a mine incident had occurred at the Jan Sher Swati coal mine in Harnai Balochistan the other day, where six labourers from Shangla were burnt due to a gas explosion.

He said Wajid Ali, Sher Afzal, Amir Muhammad, Ashraf Ali, residents of Shangla and Agha Muhammad of Duki Balochistan, were burnt in the incident.

22 bodies of miners brought to Shangla in July

According to the SCMWA general secretary, three of the workers lost their lives in the incident, while Ashraf Ali and Agha Muhammad were struggling for life in the hospital.

He said Samiullah, resident of Mian Kaly, Alpuri, who was killed at united mine in Balochistan, was also brought to his native town on Friday and buried in his ancestral graveyard.

“We have been raising the questions and persistently expressing our concerns about rising casualties in the coal mines due to a lack of safety, but so far no one has taken practical steps to address this issue,” Abid Yar lamented.

PEACE MARCH: A peace march was held in the Shangla’s Puran tehsil, in which children, youth and elders of the area participated. On this occasion, they raised the white flags of peace and shouted slogans in favour of peace.

They said that they wanted peace and were not ready to accept any kind of terrorism, adding, “If our blood is required for peace, we are ready.”

They said that currently an operation was going on in the province, there was injustice and oppression against the people of the province, and once again, there was an organised effort and conspiracy to make the peaceful people of the province homeless.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2025