11 more injured as protesters, law enforcers fight pitched battles in Chaman

QUETTA: Eleven more people suffered injuries as the participants of a protest sit-in and security forces continued to clash with each other in Chaman for the third consecutive day on Friday.

The protesters in small groups entered the city in the early hours of the day and forcibly shuttered the shops. The police foiled an attempt by the protesters to forcibly barge into the deputy commissioner’s office at the District Complex on City Road.

The protesters afterwards staged a protest sit-in at this site and suspended the vehicular traffic. Groups of protesters resorted to rioting in different parts of the city and threw stones at the headquarters of a law enforcement agency.

The clashes between the security forces and protesters continued in many central parts of the city all day long. The security personnel resorted to tear gas shelling and aerial firing as part of their attempts to disperse the rioters. Several roads and main areas of the city turned into virtual battlefields. The security personnel fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to foil an attempt by the protesters to forcibly enter a branch of the National Bank.

The protesters retaliated by heavily pelting stones at the forces and their vehicles, injuring multiple officers and causing damage to vehicles. Due to the violent protests, emergency was declared at the government and private hospitals across the district.

A large number of security forces’ personnel arrived in the city in the afternoon in armoured vehicles and took control of central areas after facing stiff resistance.

According to officials, more than 70 protesters have been arrested in the clashes. On the other hand, a protest on the Pak-Afghan border highway has been continuing for seven months, with over 10,000 people participated in the protest on Friday.

Throughout the clashes, various areas of the city echoed with intense firing, and all markets and shops remained closed, while cross-border trade has been halted for the past 37 days and mobile internet services are disrupted across the district. On the other hand, an emergency meeting was held on Friday at an undisclosed location of the protest committee to discuss the situation.

According to a spokesperson for the protesters, it was decided to continue with the agitation drive until the release of the detained leaders.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarrfaraz Bugti, chaired a meeting on the situation in the Pak-Afghan border area of Chaman.

The meeting was attended by Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Interior Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove, Engineer Zmarak Achakzai, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Interior Zahid Saleem, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Imran Zarkoon, IG Police Abdul Khaliq Sheikh, Deputy Commissioner Chaman Raja Ata Abbas, and spokesman for the Balochistan government Shahid Rind.

The CM stressed the need to address the issues faced by local traders and residents through dialogue and not to resort to violence. He highlighted that though the local people face challenges, attacks on security forces and properties are unacceptable.

Emphasising that no one is above the law, he stressed the importance of abstaining from taking the law into one’s own hands.

He pointed out that peaceful protests are a constitutional right of every citizen, but violence cannot be tolerated during demonstrations, and the state’s writ must be maintained at all costs. Despite the provocation by demonstrators in Chaman, the government is exercising patience and restraint, he added.

Bugti acknowledged the peaceful nature of the majority of Chaman’s locals and called for those disrupting the peace to reconsider their actions. He urged political parties and stakeholders in the border area to convince local residents not to engage in any unlawful activities.

The CM stated that any attempts to disrupt the situation through protests would not succeed and called for troublemakers to be isolated from the locals. He stressed the importance of the locals playing a role in maintaining peace and vowed that efforts would be made to address their concerns and resolve issues.

Separately, Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jafar Khan Mandokhail said the protest sit-in continuing in Chaman is an important issue, and the key to overcoming all sorts of challenging situations lies in productive negotiations. Near the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, hundreds of local populations earn their livelihood solely through border trade, he said.He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation comprising representatives from various political parties led by former chief minister and National Party central president Dr Abdul Malik Baloch at the Governor House in Quetta. The governor assured them that a lasting solution would soon be reached through mutual understanding and dialogue.