Quetta:
Quetta police and several other Balutchistan districts arrested more than 200 employees and leaders of the opposition party on Monday in a repression of a day linked to recent protest demonstrations.
In Quetta alone, more than 100 people were placed in police custody of Sariab, the brewery, the road airport, bypass and other parts of the city.
The detained people included senior characters from different games, such as the Pachtunkhwa Mill Awami Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal and Qahar Khan Wadan, the National Balutchistan Party, Malik Naseer Shahwani and Tahir Shahwani and the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insa Syed Agha.
Similar actions have been reported in several districts. In Sorab, the president of the BNP district, Abdul Latif, and three supporters were picked up for blocked the Quetta – Karachi highway.
In Mastung, Haji Anwar Mengal from BNP and Mir Sikandar Mulazai of the National Party were among the 14 people arrested.
Seven ANP and PKMAP workers were gathered in Loralai, while eight others, including upper members of the National Party and the BNP, took place in Jaffarabad.
Police have also confirmed nine arrests in Nasirabad, 16 in Duki, including the secretary general of the PTI district, Majeed Nasir, four in Sanjavi and several others in Kalat. In Shaman, fifteen PKMAP workers were detained.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the arrests had been caused after demonstrators have thrown stones on vehicles and tried to force traders to close their businesses.
However, opposition leaders strongly rejected this explanation.
During a press conference, a Pashtunkhwa Mill Awami party chief accused the police of using tear gas and batons “without provocation” against the workers he insisted in a peaceful demonstration.
“The right of protest is refused by the authorities,” he said.
Radical arrests occur in the midst of increased political tensions in Balutchistan following the recent bombing of suicide near the Shuhada stadium in Quetta, which cost the lives to several lives and triggered new demonstrations in the province.
