PkMAP protests for visa-free Chaman

Party’s solidarity rallies across districts urge policy reversal

QUETTA:

The Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) organized protest demonstrations in Quetta and various parts of the province on Tuesday, expressing solidarity with the participants of the ongoing Chaman sit-in. Across the province, party members gathered outside deputy commissioners’ offices, aiming to exert pressure on the federal government to concede to their demands for visa-free movement across the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman.

Abdul Qahar Wadan, the PkMAP provincial president, led a protest at the main Bacha Khan Chowk in Quetta as part of a series of protests throughout the region. Wadan emphasized the need for uninterrupted trade and freedom of movement at the Pak-Afghan border in Chaman, citing the shared tribal ties between both sides spanning centuries.

The protests unfolded nearly two months after thousands of tribesmen, including political workers, daily wage earners, and members of the trading community, initiated a sit-in in Chaman. The demonstrators, armed with placards and banners demanding the end of the passport and visa regime at the Chaman border, continued their protest against the federal government’s decision to implement a new visa system aimed at curbing terrorism.

Read PkMAP demands free cross-border movement

Wadan highlighted the challenges faced by locals, particularly those with properties on both sides of the border, and families at risk of separation due to the new visa regulations. He urged the government to reconsider its decision and ease trade and cross-border movement for Chaman’s inhabitants and the surrounding areas heavily reliant on trade with Afghanistan.

Protest demonstrations were not confined to Quetta, as PkMAP workers also rallied in Chaman, Killa Abdullah, Pishin, Loralai, Zhob, and other Pashtun-majority areas of Balochistan. The demonstrators voiced support for the ongoing Chaman sit-in, condemning what they perceived as an anti-people decision by the federal government.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2023.