At a cave-side along the hazardous mountainous region of Chiltan, situated on the outskirts of Quetta near the Lakpass tunnel, dozens of policemen stand guard. A significant trade route, the tunnel connects Afghanistan with Karachi and Pakistan with Iran — but the highway has been blocked for weeks.
A protest organised by former chief minister Akhtar Mengal’s Balochistan National Party (BNP) has brought business and trade to a standstill in the province. The demonstrators are demanding the release of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and other female activists arrested last month.
The ongoing protests and road blockade have significantly disrupted local and international trade, particularly with Iran and Afghanistan. According to traders, more than 800 containers and bowser trucks carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), along with multiple containers of perishable goods such as vegetables and fruits, are stranded at the crossing. The prolonged delays are resulting in substantial financial losses, especially from accrued duty taxes, and are undermining the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) targets for Balochistan.
Meanwhile, the government and BNP have been laying the blame for this at each other’s door. Shahid Rind, the Balochistan government’s spokesman, earlier told Dawn that despite being offered an alternative venue — Shahwani Stadium in the Sariab Road area of Quetta — the BNP-M leadership has refused to end the blockade and continues their sit-in at Lakpass.
On the other hand, the party’s chief held the provincial government responsible for the highway blockades, saying the administration deliberately blocked the roads to prevent the long marchers from entering Quetta, which has forced them to continue their si...
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