QUETTA: Protests by the Baloch Yakjethi Committee continued on Saturday after their agreement with the government could not be implemented. This led to the sealing of the Red Zone in Quetta while shutter-down strikes were also reported from other parts of the province.
According to government officials, following the death of Hamdan Baloch due to firing and injuries to two others in Nushki, the protesters once again headed towards Quetta’s Red Zone. The situation led the Quetta district administration to place containers and deploy barbed wire and other obstacles around the Red Zone including the GPO Chowk, Hockey Chowk, and Abdul Sattar Edhi Chowk.
The incident renewed the protests with further intensity. The protesters kept Gwadar’s Marine Drive, Lasbela Highway, Quetta-Taftan National Highway, and Gwadar-Sorab-Panjgoor Road. In Quetta, University Chowk, Saryab Customs, and Hazarganji Eastern Bypass closed, causing severe difficulties for the general public. Shutter-down strikes were also reported from Nushki, Chaghi, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Kharan, Panjgur, Kech, and Gwadar.
Against this backdrop, the Karachi-Gwadar M8 National Highway has remained closed at various locations for the ninth day. Trucks and vehicles loaded with food and other supplies remained stranded on the roadside, causing severe problems for residents, transporters, and visitors. The Nushki Deputy Commissioner Amjad Hussain Somro and Assistant Commissioner Abdul Samad Lehri visited the scene of protests to negotiate with the protesters. MPA from Noshki, JUI leader Haji Mir Ghulam Dostgir Badini and Haji Manzoor Ahmed Mengal Baloch also reached the venue to express condolences to the protesters. On the occasion, BYC leader Bebarg Baloch accused the security forces of opening fire at the peaceful Nushki protest without justification. However, Deputy Commissioner Nushki Amjad Somro said the firing was the outcome of a clash between the protesters and security forces in which Hamdan Baloch was killed and several others were injured. Hamdan was later laid to rest at a local graveyard. Bebarg claimed a sit-in was also staged at the Quetta-Taftan Highway in Nushki besides shutters down were reported from Turbat City, Nushki and Rakhshan divisions. Earlier on Friday following negotiations around 890 BYC activists were released.
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