PM Shehbaz Sharif Leaves Quetta Without Meeting Families of Protesting Victims

Quetta: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Islamabad from Quetta Cantonment after chairing a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee, without meeting or holding talks with the participants of an ongoing protest by the families of victims.

The prime minister arrived in Quetta earlier in the day and presided over the high-level Apex Committee meeting at Quetta Cantonment before returning to the federal capital.

According to reports, the prime minister did not visit the Chief Minister’s House or the Governor’s House during his stay in the city.

At the time of his visit, relatives of those killed in the Hanna Urak incident had been staging a sit-in for the fifth consecutive day, while the families of victims from the Ziarat incident had also launched a protest earlier in the day.

The two protests reportedly included the bodies of 21 victims. The protesters had demanded negotiations with either the Prime Minister or the Chief of Army Staff instead of holding talks with the provincial government.

However, the prime minister concluded his visit and returned to Islamabad without meeting the protesters or engaging in negotiations. No official statement was issued regarding the reasons for the absence of such a meeting during the visit.