Anti-Pakistan Rioters step on a portrait of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan during a violent demonstration August 29, 2006 in Quetta, Pakistan.
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| India-Pakistan |
| Rail and road links to Balochistan suspended |
| 2006-08-30 |
| The movement of all trains towards Balochistan, and particularly to capital Quetta, from other parts of Pakistan has been suspended in the wake of more reports of mayhem following the death of Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti. Informed sources said that most of the railway tracks leading out of Quetta have been blocked and boulders have been placed on railway lines. Officials at the Railways headquarters in Lahore have issued directives not to operate any train between Quetta and Sibbi. Railway traffic on the 141-kilometre track between Quetta and Sibbi has been closed till further orders. The Bolan Mail and Balochistan Express trains that run between Karachi and Quetta are being operated only up to Sibbi. The Quetta Express originating from Peshawar, and Jaffar Express from Rawalpindi are under suspension. The railway headquarters has issued directives not to make any reservations for Quetta, as trains would operate only up to Sibbi. Routine life has come to a complete halt in Quetta, almost 72 hours after the torching and ransacking of several government buildings, banks and private property. Even as funeral prayers were being held for Akbar Bugti at the Ayub Stadium, grief-stricken mobs have been roaming around in a frenzy, setting ablaze and smashing anything in sight, cars, tyres, glassed buildings and windows. The protesters continue to vent their anger by putting up huge bonfires. A restive Balochistan has also been crippled by a strike organised by the four-party Baloch Alliance. All business centres, markets and shops have downed their shutters and vehicles have gone off the road in roads in Quetta, Turbat, Mund, Buleda, Dasht, Tamp, Naukundi, Saindak, Khuzdar, Taftan, Usta Muhammad, Gandakha, Jhall Magsi, Naseer Abad and Dera Allahyar. The main national highways, including Quetta-Khuzdar-Karachi, Quetta-Dalbandin-Taftan-Nokandi as well as Quetta-Jaccobabad, were blocked for all kinds of traffic. Unruly protesters are being repeatedly confronted by paramilitaries and other security personnel in an attempt to bring the situation under control. Troops are resorting to firing in the air to disperse the mobs in different localities. Meanwhile, all government offices and educational institutions continue to remain closed in anticipation of further violence. Tuesday was declared a holiday in the province by the local administration to pre-empt trouble. So far, over 100 persons, including a senator and two members of the Balochistan Assembly, have been taken into custody for disturbing the peace. Jan Muhammad Buladi and Rahmat Ali Baloch, both members of the Balochistan Assembly, and Senator Dr Abdul Malik Baloch have been detained in the Bijli Ghar and BIjli Road police stations respectively. |
| Posted by:john |
| #6 "My name is Baluchi Montoya. You killed my nawab. Prepare to die." |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-08-30 17:45 |
| #5 Devolution in action. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-30 17:08 |
| #4 informed sources said that most of the railway tracks leading out of Quetta have been blocked and boulders have been placed on railway lines. Why do they hate trains? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-08-30 16:57 |
| #3 Anti-Pakistan Rioters step on a portrait of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan during a violent demonstration August 29, 2006 in Quetta, Pakistan. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-30 16:57 |
| #2 Agitation in Baluchistan is now spreading, and on Wednesday, the main RCD Highway connecting Baluchistan to the rest of Pakistan was sealed by protesting Baloch. Life in Quetta, besides other parts of Balochistan has been severely affected by a partial strike. Trucks carrying supplies from Sindh to other parts of Pakistan were stopped. Those trucks carrying goods from Punjab province were particularly targeted. All along the RCD Highway on Wednesday, bands of Baloch youth, shouting `Azadi' slogans, brought traffic to a complete standstill. "We have nothing to do with Pakistan and its rulers (Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz), who have killed Bugti saheb," said some of the protesters. Heavy boulders and roads have been placed on various parts of the highway, while Quetta City was cut-off from the highway. Protesters putting up burnt tyres and raising barriers at the Hub River Bridge linking Karachi to Balochistan have cut off the road from Sindh to the industrial city of Hub. The enraged demonstrators have also raised barriers on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway at Lakh Pas, Mastung, Qalat, Khuzdar, Wadh and other areas obstructing all sorts of traffic. The road between Quetta and Iran has also been blocked off. Traffic has also been blocked at Nowshki, Dalbadin, Chaghi and Taftan. The anger is spilling over, and the violence has wrecked large parts of Baluchistan, where the mood is to cut off ties and communication with the rest of the country. Reports of violence and destruction of property have come in from areas like Turbat, Mand, Tump, Baleda, Dasht, Punjgur and Mastung. In Turbat, an under construction radio transmission building was damaged extensively. Agitators were also reported to have staged a protest demonstration along the Coastal Highway in Gawadar; and some shops were ransacked in Chaghi. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-30 16:55 |
| #1 And we thought that the Bugtis only hated pipelines.. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-30 08:06 |