ALPURI: Labour organisations on Tuesday called for full legal compensation for the families that lost 34 members in the recent coalmine disaster at Spin Karez (Sorenj) area of Quetta in Balochistan.
They vowed to pursue the matter in the courts to ensure that the victims’ families are granted all legal rights available under the law, as the customary financial compensation was not sufficient.
Labour leaders said the cases relating to the miners who lost their lives in the Spin Karez tragedy would be taken to the Balochistan High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.They maintained that if investigations establish negligence, inadequate safety measures, or carelessness on the part of the relevant authorities or mine owners, the victims’ families should not be limited to receiving compensation alone but should also be entitled to justice under Pakistan’s Qisas and Diyat laws.
Legal experts said the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance, introduced in 1984 and later incorporated into the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), provides a legal framework under which diyat (blood money) may be awarded in cases involving the loss of human life.
Under Section 323 of the PPC, the federal government determines the minimum amount of diyat at the beginning of each financial year through a notification based on the market value of 30,630 grams of silver.
According to the federal government’s notification for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the minimum amount of diyat has been fixed at Rs19,352,390.Labour organisations argued that if the courts determine liability in the mine disaster, the legal heirs of each deceased miner should be awarded this amount in accordance with the law.
The organisations said that valuable human lives continue to be lost every year due to poor enforcement of mine safety regulations, including inadequate gas monitoring, ventilation systems, protective equipment, emergency rescue arrangements, and workers’ safety training.
