Pakistan: Protests held in Balochistan against killing of truck driver

Various political parties staged a protest on Wednesday in several parts of Pakistan's Balochistan province against the killing of a truck driver in Chagai as well as injuries to those who had taken to the streets against the incident, local media reported.

Workers of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal), National Party (NP) and Baloch Students Organisation-Pajjar (BSO-Pajjar) staged a joint protest outside the Dalbandin Press Club, demanding justice for the recently killed truck driver, Dawn newspaper reported.

The NP staged a similar protest in Nokkundi and Nushki while BNP-Mengal workers held similar rallies in Kharan and Nushki.

BNP-M Nushki district president Haji Bahadur Khan Mengal and Kharan district's Nadeem Siapad called upon the authorities to lodge an FIR against those officials who opened fire on protesters in Nokkundi and Chagai towns, reported Dawn.

Meanwhile, National Party (NP) member Sardar Rafiq Sher and others urged the authorities to open the borders with Iran and Afghanistan for trade as there was no other major source of income for the people in the Chagai district.

Earlier, on April 18, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) boycotted the National Assembly proceedings over the killings of civilians by security forces in their province.

"On April 16, a heart-wrenching incident happened at Chagai when the security forces opened fire on unarmed and oppressed Baloch people in which six persons were martyred and many others injured. As usual, the past attitude has not been abandoned. Today (Monday) again, the peaceful innocent Baloch protesters were fired upon resulting in more killings," leader of BNP-M Agha Hasan Baloch said in the House, reported Dawn.

Pakistani forces allegedly had forced several drivers from the ethnic minority areas of Balochistan to abandon their vehicles and march through the desert to their homes in the Chagai district near the border with Afghanistan, local media reported.

The BNP-M member regretted that the Baloch people had been the victim of extrajudicial killings since 1947 and this was happening even today.

In the absence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from the house, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif responded to the protesting BNP-M lawmakers, stating that the Balochistan issue had been there since the 1960s. He admitted that excesses had been committed with the people of Balochistan and agreements with them were violated, according to Dawn.

( With inputs from ANI )