Machh tragedy: Protests across country called off, roads reopened

• Head of Shuhada Action Committee says protests are being called off with the consent of the heirs of the deceased
• Govt representatives promise that prime minister, army chief will both visit relatives of deceased to offer condolences 
• Protesters start disbanding peacefully from various sit-ins in Karachi 

QUETTA: Sit-ins being held across the country in solidarity with the victims of the Machh tragedy have been called off following successful talks between the government and the protesters encamped in Quetta.

In a late night development, federal minister Ali Zaidi had announced that there had been a breakthrough in talks between the government and the heirs of the victims, following which the latter had given permission for the slain men to be given a burial. 

Zaidi said it had accepted all demands put forth by the protesters, while Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri promised that the prime minister and the army chief would be visiting the protesters to pay their respects and express their condolences as soon as the burials were completed. 

Leader of the Shuhada Action Committee Agha Raza said on the occasion that the protests had been organised for the sake of the heirs of the deceased, and were now being called off with their consent. 

He said the slain men would be buried with solemnity at 10am on Saturday (today). 

Issuing a call to protesters across the country who had organised sit-ins in solidarity with the victims of the Machh tragedy, he said that all demands put forth had been accepted by the government and all protests should therefore be wrapped up peacefully. 

The Hazara community had been protesting for six days in Quetta over the brutal murder of 10 coalminers in Balochistan's Machh town last Saturday. 

In solidarity with the Hazaras, protests and sit-ins were also being held in various towns and cities across the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. 

In Karachi, protesters had encamped in more than 30 places over the last three days. 

After the late-night breakthrough, however, calls were issued to Karachi protesters to disband peacefully. 

The Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen issued the call to end sit-ins in various areas of the city, following which the protesters started peacefully departing the main sit-in organised at Numaish Chowrangi. 

Reports from elsewhere in the city suggested that sit-ins were being wrapped up in other areas as well. 

Similar calls were issued in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and other cities as well. 

Reports from Lahore said that protests on Mall Road, Chungi Amar Sadhu, Thokar Niaz Baig, Multan Road and Imamia Colony had been wrapped up and that all roads had been reopened for traffic. 

In Islamabad too, the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen called off the protest in D-Chowk, following which the protesters disbanded peacefully.