ISLAMABAD: On Monday, a tense conflict erupted across Balochistan as patriotic president Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s call for a “long protest” from Lakpass to Quetta sparked a nationwide road blockade and a shutter-down hit.
In addition to the escalating clashes with authorities, the protest by Akhtar’s Balochistan National Party-Mengal ( BNP-M), which is now in its second week, demands the release of detained Baloch activists, including women leaders of the Balochistan Yakjehti Committee ( BYC).
In places like Quetta, Kalat, Mastung Khuzdar, and Gwadar, shops, corporations, and institutions remained closed. The Quetta-Karachi nationwide highway is among the important routes blocked by Meengal’s supporters.
The protest was stalled by the municipal government’s implementation of containers, trenches, and police checkpoints at Lakpass, which is located about 30 kilometers from Quetta. Demonstrators were forced to take up mountain routes on rugged terrain.
The turmoil has grown worse as a result of reports of officers shooting BNP-M employees with teargas.
Mengal blasted the state of tyranny and pledged to advance during a sit-in at Lakpass. He declared, indicating plans to turn the march into provincial-wide opposition,” the state does love us, but we didn’t bow.” Following the arrest of BYC officials, including Mahrang Baloch, during a assault on their Quetta sit-in, the opposition started on March 28 in Wadh, Mengal’s home. Mengal was unharmed when a suicide bombing occurred close to the rally on March 29. It added to the dangerous bets.
The government of Balochistan, led by deputy minister Sarfraz Bugti, has adopted a harsh stance. If Mengal marched into Quetta’s Red Zone, his spokesperson, Shahid Rind, warned him of arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order ( MPO ) Act.
Mengal has criticized the municipal government’s ambassadors as being ineffective in conversations. But, BYC rallied behind Mengal and called for strikes and bridge blockades to intensify pressure.
Researchers view it as a crucial moment for Balochistan, where dissention over demands for resources, forced disappearances, and other grievances gas discord. Public career has been impacted by the shutter-down, with Quetta’s area connections to 12 districts severed for more than a year. The state prepares for what Mengal’s followers call a defining fight as mobile networks are down and protection is tightened.
