Quetta reopens but some parts of Balochistan remain shut for 2nd day on BYC’s call

The situation in Quetta returned to normal on Sunday — a day after a partial shutdown — while a shutter-down strike continued for a second day in some cities across Balochistan in response to a call by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC), which demanded the release of its leadership.

The strike follows the arrests of BYC chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and 16 other activists from their protest camp at Quetta’s Sariab Road as well as a police crackdown on its sit-in against alleged enforced disappearances.

Mahrang had been leading the protest against the arrests of BYC activist Bebarg Baloch, his brother, and Bolan Medical College Vice Principal Dr Ilyas Baloch and his family members. Dr Ilyas and his relatives have been released. The participants were also protesting against the alleged burial of 13 bodies without identification.

The strike call had been issued after the BYC claimed on Friday that three of its protesters were killed by blank shots allegedly fired by the police. However, Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat had denied the claim, saying the deaths resulted from alleged firing by “armed elements accompanying BYC leadership”.

According to a Dawn.com correspondent, the situation in Quetta returned to normal today after the provincial capital observed a partial shutdown and wheel-jam strike yesterday.

While the main businesses and markets remained open on Saturday, Sariab Road, Brewery Road as well as some other areas on the city’s outskirts had remained closed.

Shops in Gwadar and Surab, where a strike was reported yesterday, also reopened today, Dawn.com correspondents said.

On its side, the BYC issued a call for another protest at the Qambrani road in Quetta at 4pm today.

It said the protest was against the state’s actions in Balochistan as well as the arrest of Mahrang and other leaders, and urged the province’s people to come out of their homes to support the movement.

In a statement on Mahrang’s X account, her sister urged the public to raise their voice for the “safe release of Mahrang Baloch, Beboo Baloch, Bebagar Baloch, and their friends”.

“As long as she (Mahrang) remains unlawfully detained by the state of Pakistan, I will be managing this account and providing updates on her situation,” the post purportedly made by her sister said.

Some Balochistan cities remain shut

However, shutter-down strikes continued in Kech’s Turbat as well as in Panjgur, Noshki, Kalat and Chagai districts, Dawn.com correspondents reported.

Protests by BYC supporters were also held in Kech and at Bhawani near Hub on the Karachi-Quetta Highway, where traffic had been suspended yesterday due to road blockades.

The BYC shared purported visuals of closed shops in Kech, Noshki, Kharan, and Kalat. Videos shared by the committee also showed dozens, mostly women, at a sit-in in Kech and a rally purportedly held in Chagai.

In another post, the BYC claimed that one protester was arrested earlier today at Hub as “police and security personnel launched a crackdown on the protest camp, where families of missing persons and BYC activists were peacefully gathered”.

“They dismantled the tent, fired tear gas, and opened fire, sabotaging the protest,” it added.

On Saturday, strikes had been reported in Mastung, Khuzdar, Hub, Bela, Surab, Gwadar, Dera Murad Jamali and some other areas as well.

Meanwhile, the roads in Khuzdar, Surab, Kalat and Mastung were opened last night after talks were held with the local administrations. Traffic had been suspended yesterday between Quetta and Karachi, as well as Quetta and Taftan due to the blocking of highways.

By late Saturday night, the supporters of BYC were present in the Saroyan area and ‘clashes’ between the protesters and the BYC continued. Police were using tear gas to disperse the mob.

Reports also suggested that the post office of Balochistan University and many shops on Sariab Road had been torched while a heavy contingent was present in the area to disperse the protesters.

In a statement yesterday, Shafqaat had denied the claim that the police had killed three people by firing at the protesters during the BYC Quetta sit-in. The commissioner said BYC initiated a protest on March 21 demanding the recovery of the bodies of individuals killed during the Jaffar Express operation.

However, the protest quickly turned violent as BYC protesters and their armed accomplices allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, indiscriminate firing, and attacks on law enforcement personnel. During the unrest, three individuals lost their lives due to alleged firing by “armed elements accompanying BYC leadership”.

“Civil authorities and police emphasised that the deceased individuals’ bodies needed examination to ascertain the actual circumstances of their deaths. Despite knowing that all three — one of whom was an Afghan national — were killed by their own associates, the BYC leadership refused to hand over the bodies.

HDT chief Hidayatur Rehman ‘ready to mediate’

Separately, Haq Do Tehreek chief Maulana Hidayatur Rehman said he was ready to mediate between the government and the BYC to reduce the tensions.

Rehman, also a Balochistan MPA from Jamaat-i-Islami, said in a statement issued by the HDT that the “people of Balochistan cannot afford more bodies”.

Expressing concern over the recent incidents in Quetta related to the BYC, Rehman said “peace cannot be established with violence and coercion”.

Rehman said he was ready to mediate, with the agreement of the parties, so that the “release of the prisoners and public relief were possible”. He stressed that any further conflict would not be in the public interest as the people were the most affected by the current situation.