Dozens injured in Chaman protest

QUETTA:

Over three dozen people, including 16 policemen, were injured on Thursday during violent clashes between participants of a prolonged sit-in protesting against new border rules and law enforcement agencies in Chaman, a town near Afghanistan. The unrest occurred outside the deputy commissioner’s office and the Frontier Corps fort.

Dr. Asmat Achakzai, the medical superintendent of Chaman Hospital, confirmed that 27 injured individuals were brought to the medical facility. He noted that most injuries resulted from tear gas and bullets. Following the escalation in tension, an emergency was declared at the hospital to ensure that the injured received prompt medical care.

Shahid Rind, the spokesman for the Balochistan government, maintained that the violence erupted when the protesters attacked the security forces, resulting in injuries to 16 policemen and Levies personnel. “Police and Levies retaliated to the violent protesters,” he added. However, the leaders of the protesters contested this claim. Faiz Muhammad, a prominent figure among the Chaman protesters, accused the security forces of using force without justification. “The forces attacked us without any provocation,” he claimed.

The violence caused seven severely injured individuals to be admitted to the trauma centre of the Civil Hospital in Quetta for further treatment. The situation remained tense in Chaman with increased security measures in place at the time this report was filed.

A day earlier, the participants of the sit-in attacked the office of the deputy commissioner during negotiations when their camps were uprooted, resulting in the arrest of their key leaders. Hundreds of tribesmen and daily wage earners have been protesting for several months against new visa and passport restrictions on people using Chaman town to cross into Afghanistan and vice versa.

The matter was raised in the National Assembly on Thursday when the opposition PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and JUI-F came together to demand an end to the problems faced by commuters looking to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman. During the NA session, the lawmakers from both parties also demanded an end to the “high-handedness” faced by the protesters at the hands of the security personnel.

Speaking on a point of order, NA Opposition Leader Omar Ayub of the PTI-SIC regretted that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had imposed the requirements of a passport and a visa on the travellers, who could earlier cross the border with their computerised national identity cards alone. He demanded that the interior minister should come to the House and provide an explanation for the new restrictions. Ayub also criticised the clashes occurring at the Chaman border.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also met with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and raised the issue of the Chaman protesters. He informed the speaker that the participants of the sit-in were locals, who depended on the border crossing for their livelihoods. The Maulana asked for the government to ease the restrictions so that these locals could easily earn their livelihoods. The NA speaker assured the JUI-F chief that he would play his role in convincing the government to alleviate the hardships faced by the protesters at the border crossing points.