Lawmakers protest Iran border closure

Opposition lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly staged protest against the closure of the Iran-Balochistan border

QUETTA:

Opposition lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly staged a sit-in near the Speaker's chair to protest the closure of the Iran-Balochistan border which they accused was causing economic hardships for the locals.

Chaired by Khair Jan Balochistan, the Assembly session turned tense as Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Maulana Hidayatur Rehman accused the federal government of discriminatory policies against the province.

"The federal government's worst policies are suffocating the people of Balochistan economically," Maulana Rehman said.

"By closing borders and allowing illegal trawling to continue, they're snatching the livelihoods of our fishermen in Gwadar and other coastal areas," he added.