‘Truly heartless’: PM Imran draws ire suggesting ‘blackmail’ by Hazaras
Amidst countrywide protests, and with political pressure snowballing; Prime Minister Imran Khan once again urged the Shia Hazara community in Balochistan; to bury the bodies of coal miners killed in a gruesome attack in the Mach area over the weekend.
This would have just like appeals many other political leaders have issued to the grieving Hazaras; except the premier’s choice of words today, suggesting the protesters were “blackmailing” him by refusing to bury their loved ones; until he visits them, sparked a fresh social media storm.
“We have accepted all of their demands. [But] one of their demands is that the dead will be buried when the premier visits. I have sent them a message that when all of your demands have accepted; you don’t blackmail the prime minister of any country like this,” the prime minister said; while speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad and as calls for him to visit Quetta grew louder.
“Anyone will blackmail the prime minister then,” he emphasised, adding that this included a “band of crooks;” an apparent reference to the opposition. “This blackmail has also ongoing for two-and-a-half years.”
Imran also asked the protesters to first bury the miners’ bodies, saying he would visit them as soon as they do so.
The remarks quickly set off a furor on social media where analysts, politicians, journalists, and citizens alike criticized Prime Minister Imran for “insensitive” and “lacking empathy” for the Hazaras who continuing their protest for the sixth straight day on Friday. Besides other hashtags criticizing the government response, #ApatheticPMIK was the top trend on Twitter in Pakistan.
Accompanied by the coffins of the slain miners and braving the biting cold, the mourners, including women and children, have refused to leave Quetta’s western bypass area; until the premier visits and the killers brought to justice.
Reactions to the prime minister’s latest comments
Following are some reactions to the prime minister’s latest comments:
Journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi said Prime Minister Imran after suggesting he blackmailed had “negotiated” with the Hazaras, asking them to bury their dead first.
“As if the most marginalised mourners should told how to mourn, how to protest, how to seek comfort,” she wrote on Twitter.
She also shared pictures of the distraught protesters, saying the premier had equated these “blackmailers” with leaders of opposition parties.
PM Imran Khan says the Hazara community can’t blackmail a prime minister into condoling by refusing to bury their dead. Then he negotiates – bury your dead first.
As if the most marginalised mourners should told how to mourn, how to protest, how to seek comfort. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/W7QR4bCOsh
— Amber Rahim Shamsi (@AmberRShamsi) January 8, 2021
Journalist and Dawn Islamabad resident editor Fahd Husain termed the prime minister’s remarks “a very poor choice of words”.
“Such framing lacks empathy and insults those already devastated by tragedy. PM should take the words back,” he said.
PM @ImranKhanPTI has used a very poor choice of words by saying he will not be “blackmailed” by the #Hazara mourners. Such framing lacks empathy and insults those already devastated by tragedy. PM should take the words back
— Fahd Husain (@Fahdhusain) January 8, 2021
MNA Mohsin Dawar said he shocked by the premier’s “callousness”, but not surprised. “The Hazara community has suffered a lot, They continue being targeted & killed & when they mourn their martyrs our PM calls them blackmailers,” he said.
The Hazara community has suffered a lot, They continue being targeted & killed & when they mourn their martyrs our PM calls them blackmailers. Shocked by his callousness but not surprised. PTI has no qualms about their support for terrorists.#WeDemandApology#PMShouldApologize
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) January 8, 2021
Senior journalist Hamid Mir
Senior journalist Hamid Mir commented that the people participating in the protest sit-in along; with the deceased miners’ coffins were “no less than corpses themselves”, asking “how could they blackmail anyone?”
گیارہ لاشوں نے اپنی تدفین سے پہلے اُس “احساس” کو دفن کر دیا جو ایک خصوصی پروگرام کی صورت میں بڑے بڑے دعووں کے ساتھ پیش کیا گیا تھا جو لوگ لاشوں کے ساتھ دھرنے میں بیٹھے ہیں وہ تو خود کسی لاش سے کم نہیں وہ کسی کو کیا بلیک میل کریں گے pic.twitter.com/9mfoFbSWe1
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) January 8, 2021
Referring to Prime Minister Imran’s remark that he would visit Quetta only when the protesters buried the miners’ bodies, lawyer and legal adviser Reema Omar said, “Going by this logic, [it] appears as if it is the PM who is ‘blackmailing’ the families of the martyrs and the persecuted Hazara community by making his visit to Quetta conditional upon the burial of the deceased.’
Going by this logic, appears as if it is the PM who is “blackmailing” the families of the martyrs and the persecuted Hazara community by making his visit to Quetta conditional upon the burial of the deceased https://t.co/zbw6wrl0O1
— Reema Omer (@reema_omer) January 8, 2021
Stand-up comedian Shehzad Ghias Shaikh said Prime Minister Imran allegedly thought of Hazara protestors; as blackmailers “because he never believed in any of the causes he protested for. Imran Khan always used his protests as a way to blackmail the government; so naturally, he thinks everybody else does the same.”
Do you want to know why Imran Khan thinks the Hazara protestors are blackmailers?
Because he never believed in any of the causes he protested for. Imran Khan always used his protests as a way to blackmail the Government, so naturally he thinks everybody else does the same.
— Shehzad Ghias Shaikh (@Shehzad89) January 8, 2021
