Protest staged in Turbat over border closure

Businessmen say Pak-Iran border is a matter of life and death for them

TURBAT:

Businessmen including transporters staged a protest in front of Turbat Press Club on Wednesday over the closure of the Pak-Iran border and discontinuation of the token system that was used by traders to move oil across the border.

Lala Nazir Zamrani and Shabasat were leading the protesters which also included car owners and drivers belonging to Zamran, Baleda, Mand and Turbat.

On the occasion, the speakers maintained that the Pak-Iran border is a matter of life and death for them. "Kech district is a border district. There are no small or big factories here," they added. "So open the border and cooperate with the poor.”

The speakers alleged that the Border Trade Union Kech does not want the border to be reopened for the general public as the union has become a money making factory for officials.

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"Therefore, it has nothing to do with the people of Hammand, Zamran Buleda and Turbat," they said.

Addressing the protest, Raza Shah, Shabasat Barkat, Lala Nazir and others said they would not accept the token system under any circumstances.

"Sometimes they charge two hundred, sometimes four hundred but no poor person gets a token. This has made drivers unemployed for many months and apart from business, we have relations with Iran, so the border should be opened anyway," the protestors added. "If there is any suspicion on the part of security agencies then they should search the person, keep their ID but return it later if the person is not guilty of anything. This is better than closing the border completely.”

It is pertinent to mention that the federal government had closed the border for oil trade under the pretext of oil smuggling and security issues.