Strike observed in major parts of Balochistan

FC personnel stand alert on eve of third death anniversary of Mir Balach Marri in Quetta.

QUETTA: A complete shutter down and transport strike was observed in major parts of Balochistan on Saturday, paralysing business and trade activities for the day to mark the third death anniversary of Baloch guerrilla commander Mir Balach Marri. Traffic between Quetta and Karachi, Taftan and Sibi remained disrupted for the entire day.

The strike call was given by the Anjuman-e-Ittehad Marri and was backed by Baloch nationalist parties, including the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M), Baloch Republican Party (BRP), Baloch National Movement (BNM) and the Azad faction of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad).

There was a complete shutter-down in Quetta and all shopping centres situated in Liaquat Bazaar, Jinnah Road, Mezan Chowk, Alamdar Road, Prince Road, Saryab Road, Brewery Road, Hazar Ganji, Joint Road, Shahbaz Town, Jinnah Town, Abdul Sattar Road and other areas remained closed.

Most of the streets wore a deserted look with very thin traffic plying on the road. Chemists, food shops and bakeries remained open in some areas. Essential services were not disrupted during the strike.

Strict security measures were adopted to avert any untoward incident. Heavy contingents of police, Frontier Corps (FC) and other law-enforcement agencies were deployed at various places with security officials patrolling sensitive areas. Police officials were more visible than personnel of the Frontier Corps.

Strike was also observed in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Gwadar, Kech, Mand, Pasni, Sibi, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Awaran, Panjgur and other Baloch-dominant districts of the province.

Traffic on RCD and National highways was also at a standstill, disrupting inter-city bus services.

Activists of the BRP and BSO also staged protest demonstrations in Sibi and other towns to mark the death anniversary.

It may be mentioned that Mir Balach Marri was killed near Sarlat, a no-man’s land between Pakistan and Afghanistan near Nuskhi, during a search operation in 2007. However, the death of the Baloch leader, who was also a member of the Balochistan Assembly, remains mysterious because government officials have claimed that he was killed in the Afghan territory by Nato forces during an air strike. The Afghan government has never confirmed this claim.

Balach was elected a member of the Balochistan Assembly in 2002 from Kohlu district as an independent candidate during Pervez Musharraf’s regime and after taking oath, he never attended the assembly sessions, instead took up the fight for national rights.

Unconfirmed reports said that Balach had led the banned outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Published iN The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2010.