A complete wheel-jam and shutter-down strike was observed across Balochistan on Friday to mark the fifth death anniversary of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was murdered in a military operation in 2006. The strike, called by Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and Baloch Republican Party (BRP), was taken up voluntarily by a large number of people. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the province during the protest.
All shops, main markets, business centres, commercial areas and even some medical stores remained closed in Quetta as main city centres such as Jinnah Road, Shara-e-Iqbal, Liaquat Bazaar, Abdul Sattar Road, Sariab Road, and Brewery Road presented a deserted look. All government and private schools also stayed close and some workers of JWP set old tyres on fire on Jinnah Road to keep traffic off the road. Black flags were hoisted on party office buildings and workers wore black arm bands to mark the leader’s anniversary.
Baloch political and nationalist parties such as the Baloch National Front (BNF), National Party (NP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) extended full support to the strike. JWP workers staged a demonstration in front of Quetta Press Club and demanded immediate arrest of the accused in Bugti’s murder. Workers of various political parties blocked the main highways, including the Quetta-Karachi highway and Quetta-Taftan highway to all kinds of traffic.
Police backed by Frontier Corps, Balochistan Constabulary and Anti-Terrorist Force had taken stringent security measures as a large contingent of security forces personnel was deployed at sensitive areas. Reports from interior parts of the province said that the strike was also observed in Mastung, Kalat, Mongechar, Surab, Khuzdar, Nal, Wadh, Mashkey, Kharan, Naushki, Dalbandin, Nokkundi, Turbat, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwanri, Ormara, Panjgur, Mand, Tump, Awaran, Hub and dozens of other towns.
