Balochistan

Demonstrators protest against confiscation of smuggled goods

Block RCD Highway, disperse after negotiations with Chagai DC

Our Correspondent February 04, 2020

Students and teachers marched through various streets before staging a protest outside the Quetta Press Club.

QUETTA: Routine traffic, including the movement of Shia pilgrims, remained suspended for several hours as dozens of enraged protesters blocked the Pak-Iran RCD Highway near the Dalbandin and Yakmach areas of Chagai on Monday.

The protests were triggered by the Chagai local administration’s crackdown on the illegal sale of Iranian oil in Yakmach.

According to Dalbandin Assistant Commissioner Ayesha Zehri, she had, on the instructions of the Chagai Deputy Commissioner, raided a mini petrol market the previous day and confiscated a large quantity of smuggled Iranian oil loaded on 12 vehicles as well as smuggled Afghan cotton being transported on another vehicle and handed them over to the Yakmach Levies station.

After the ensuing five hour-long strike, Chagai Deputy Commissioner Fateh Khan Khajjak, accompanied by Frontier Corps (FC) officials, successfully negotiated with protesters who then peacefully dispersed.

The negotiated terms and conditions for ending the strike were not shared with the media.

The protesters, however, claimed that the confiscated Iranian commodities had been returned to the concerned drivers, a claim which was subsequently confirmed by some official sources.

However, the Chagai Deputy Commissioner, when approached for his version of events, did not share details of the negotiations.

Dalbandin Assistant Commissioner Ayesha Zehri, however, termed the protest an act of blackmail, saying that “gathering a mob to pave the way for smuggling is an illogical and illegal act which will not be tolerated”.

Meanwhile, a shutter down strike was observed in Chaghi city to protest against growing incidents of theft and robbery.

The call had been given by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and was supported by several other political parties. As a result, all shops and major business markets remained closed on Monday, greatly inconveniencing the masses. Responding to the situation, Chagai Deputy Commissioner Fateh Khan Khajjak ordered action against criminal elements and pledged the maintenance of law and order at any cost.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2020.