An explosive situation is developing all over Balochistan due to combination of a number of factors, starting with relentless attacks by Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on vehicles moving on highways. The sit-in strike inside Huda jail in Quetta by Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr Mahrang Baloch has angered ordinary Baloch citizens. On top of that, government employees have declared that they are proceeding on an indefinite strike which started on Thursday.
It needs to be emphasized here that the BLA has been carrying out attacks on vehicles transporting minerals from Balochistan to other places. Ordinary civilian vehicles, ambulances and those carrying rations etc. (essential items) are being allowed to ply normally as it says that an economic blockade is being enforced. Dozens of vehicles transporting minerals have been targeted in these attacks and many of them burnt over the last one month.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Employees’ Grand Alliance has announced an indefinite shutdown of government offices, educational institutions and other public sector departments across Balochistan. The strike started on Thursday, a day after police used tear gas and detained protesters during a march towards the Balochistan assembly in Quetta.
Government employees had attempted to march towards the assembly during the budget session to protest against the provincial budget, which announced a seven per cent salary increase for them. The alliance rejected the raise, demanding a 35 per cent disparity reduction allowance and a previously promised 25 per cent pay increase. It said the protest campaign would continue until its demands were met.
Police and Frontier Corps personnel blocked the march near Chaman Phatak, where rallies from different parts of Quetta had converged before moving towards the assembly. The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, triggering panic and chaos in the area. More than 10 leaders and workers were arrested, protesters said.
Alliance leaders Abdul Qudoos Kakar and Younas Kakar announced that the protest movement would be intensified following what they described as a “violent crackdown” on peaceful demonstrators. The alliance also announced that a hunger strike unto death would begin in Quetta soon, warning that the movement would be expanded until its demands were accepted.
Meanwhile, the attacks by BLA on vehicles has led to a piquant situation as hundreds of LPG bowsers are stranded in Balochistan’s border town of Taftan. At least 400 bowsers stranded in this manner will need to be escorted out under Pakistan Army security, officials said, after repeated attacks on the Quetta-Taftan highway affected fuel supplies and mineral transport.
District officials said security clearance had been issued and drivers had been told to keep their vehicles and documents ready for the convoy movement. The bowsers will first be moved from Taftan towards Quetta and then sent onward to Punjab and other parts of Pakistan, the officials said.
The strike by the government employees and interdiction of some roads has added another layer of insecurity and uncertainty for these vehicles. The disruption in LPG transport from Taftan has affected supplies to several areas, with reports of factory production being hit and prices rising in some places. The impact of this stoppage of LPG from Balochistan is expected to become more pronounced in the days to come.
The convoy plan under Army escort has been prepared after repeated attacks on the Quetta-Taftan route, where Pakistani forces, mineral transport and cargo vehicles have been targeted in recent weeks. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed several attacks on highways in Balochistan, including the Quetta-Taftan route, as part of what it calls an “economic blockade”.
Transporters and traders have also halted loading on parts of the route, demanding security after attacks on cargo and mineral vehicles. Estimates by transporters say more than 100 vehicles have been destroyed in recent attacks.
In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch has said the group aimed to strike what he called the state’s “economic lifeline” by making its interests in Balochistan “insecure” and “unstable”. He added: “Until Balochistan is transformed into an inevitable economic burden for the occupying state, it is impossible to halt its blind military adventurism and the horrific cycle of Baloch genocide.”
The group also warned transport owners and drivers to avoid carrying fuel, supplies or logistics for companies it described as exploitative. The BLA has advised civilians to avoid travelling near military convoys, Pakistani forces and vehicles linked to such projects.
