More than a hundred protesters were arrested across Balochistan on Thursday as the province observed a complete shutter-down strike against the killing of Nawabzada Balach Marri, a Baloch nationalist leader. Police rounded up around fifty protesters in Quetta, most of whom had come from Sariab, where Balochis are in a majority. Fifteen protesters were arrested in Gwadar, where the Balochistan National Party, National Party and the Baloch Students Organisation had called for a complete strike. Ten leaders of the National Party were detained in Panjgur district where police used tear gas and baton-charged the protesters. Dozens of protesters were arrested from other provincial districts including Khuzdar, Dalbandin, Turbat, Sibi, Panjgur, Mustung, Noshaki. Life came to a stand still in these districts while protests were largely peaceful.
“A state of red alert has been declared in Quetta with 4,000 police personnel and the Frontier Corps (FC) deployed at different locations. Around 70 mobile teams will continue to patrol Quetta,” the city’s police chief Mohammad Akbar said.
In Quetta, a complete shutter down strike was observed in the Baloch-populated areas where protesters burnt two government vehicles and pelted stones at official buildings. Shops, banks and business centres remained closed. The city government had announced the closure of all educational institutes on Thursday.
However, life continued as usual in the rest of the city. Supporters of Balach Marri also blocked many roads, including the RCD and Mekran Highways for many hours. Meanwhile, three bomb blasts took place in Hub, BalochistanÂ’s industrial town, and Sibi, suspending power supply to many parts of Hub township and damaging the local post office.