Machh massacre: Slain miner's son goes on hunger strike 'until PM Imran Khan visits Quetta'

• Protesters accompanying Sajjad Hussain says he has vowed not to eat or drink anything even if he dies
  
• Sajjad Hussain is the son of Ramzan Ali, a miner who was executed during the Machh massacre
• Hussain has set up his hunger strike camp outside the Quetta Press Club, with members of the Hazara community accompanying him

QUETTA: A resident of the Balochistan capital has started a hunger strike demanding that Prime Minister Imran Khan "come to Quetta" to visit the bereaved families of the Machh massacre victims protesting in freezing cold temperatures.

Protesters accompanying the citizen, identified as Sajjad Hussain, said the man has vowed not to eat or drink anything — even if he dies — until PM Imran Khan visits Quetta to meet and condole with the Hazara community.

Ten colliers were shot dead after armed men stormed the Machh coal field last Sunday, taking the miners to nearby mountains before opening fire on them. Four others were seriously wounded, police had confirmed at the time.

Read more: PM won't be insulted, will respect him more if he visits Quetta, say Hazara protesters

Sajjad Hussain, the son of slain miner Ramzan Ali, has now set up his hunger strike camp outside the Quetta Press Club, with members of the Hazara community and representatives of the civil society accompanying him.

"We demand that Prime Minister Imran Khan come to Quetta," the aggrieved protesters stated.

Earlier today, the premier said he was ready to go to Quetta at a moment's notice but only after the deceased were buried. "All the demands put forth by the protesters have been accepted," he had said before adding that "making the burial conditional on the prime minister's visit is not appropriate".

Also read: PM Imran makes counter-condition, says will visit Quetta after Machh miners' burial

"That's akin to blackmailing the prime minister," PM Imran Khan had stated, stoking anger and resentment among the oppressed Hazara community that has been target of numerous similar terrorist attacks over the past.

"I assured them that they would be compensated and looked after as the affected families have lost their breadwinners [but] nowhere in the world can you blackmail a prime minister like this," the premier had said.

"Because then [it opens the door for] every crook to stage a sit-in and demand corruption cases against them be withdrawn. This is very important."

Related: After Machh tragedy, Karachi's Hazaras fear for their safety as well

"The Hazara community has faced the most cruelty. They have been persecuted in ways no other [community] has been persecuted. I have visited them and seen their fear."

"India is trying its best to create chaos [in Pakistan]," he had added.

Read more: Balochistan chief minister removes DC, DPO over Machh massacre

Several rounds of talks between the PTI government and the protesters have failed over the past six days as the mourning participants of the sit-ins — which have been replicated throughout Pakistan by activists and civil society in solidarity — continue their demonstration.

So far, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on overseas Pakistanis, Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, have visited the Hazara community's protest at Quetta's Western Bypass.

Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry had a day earlier held India responsible for the last week's Machh massacre, stressing that New Delhi had also been involved in terrorism and subversive activities across Pakistan.

Related: Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry says India responsible for Machh massacre

Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz defended the premier, saying the people who saw a tragedy like the Machh massacre as an opportunity for politicking were the ones "who did not have any humanity left in them".

On the other hand, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, alongside other Opposition leaders, also visited the protest site in Quetta, condoling with and comforting the bereaved families there.