Police drop case, but opp MPAs unfazed

Lawmakers refuse to leave police station till ‘total withdrawal’ of FIR

QUETTA:

The Balochistan police on Wednesday withdrew an FIR against the opposition lawmakers in the provincial assembly, according to a notification issued backdated to June 29.

The notification added that during the course of the investigation, “apparently contradiction of evidence were available against the MPAs”. Therefore, their names were “being discharged from the FIR on the completion of codal formalities accordingly”, it read.

On the other hand, opposition lawmaker Sanaullah Baloch said in a message on Twitter that the notice issued by the police was a progress report in which the MPAs had been discharged under Section 169. “We categorically refuse to leave the police station till total withdrawal of the FIR as directed in the assembly ruling,” he said.

The opposition sit-in in Quetta’s Bijli police station continued for the 10th day on Wednesday as they had courted arrest after the FIR was registered against them for creating mayhem on the premises of the Balochistan Assembly on the budget day.

Read: Balochistan police refuse to arrest opposition MPAs

While talking to media in the police station, Opposition Leader in Balochistan Assembly Advocate Malik Sikandar said the provincial government could withdraw the case within 15 minutes but they “reluctantly” worked on the issue to suppress the opposition.

“The opposition is protesting against growing poverty, insecurity, illiteracy and injustice in the police station,” said Sikandar who was accompanied by prominent opposition MPAs, including Malik Naseer Shahwani, Sana Baloch, Akhtar Hussain Langau and Mir Zabid Reki.

The MPAs accused the provincial government of not spending Rs200 billion on the development of Balochistan that resulted in the poverty rate rising to 79 per cent and literacy rate recording a substantial drop. They claimed the poverty has reached its peak in the province.

“We will end our movement with the overthrow of the Jam [Balochistan chief minister] government,” he said, adding the opposition would intensify their movement against the government.

While talking to a private news channel on Wednesday, the chief minister said the government had withdrawn the FIR against the opposition.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2021.