Sunday, April 12, 2009

Balochistan shut down for third straight day





QUETTA: The third consecutive day of wheel-jam and shutter down strike paralyzed normal life in vast areas of Balochistan on Sunday.

The protest was observed on the call of Balochistan National Party (Mengal), Baloch National Front and Baloch Students Organization to condemn the Turbat incident in which three Baloch political leaders were found dead.

The people and transporters responded to the strike call as all private vehicles, buses, coaches and rickshaws remained off the roads and business activities remained suspended for third straight day in the city.

The protestors blocked the national highways between Quetta-Sibi-Jacobabad, Quetta-Nushki-Taftan and Quetta-Khuzdar-Karachi at Mach, Mungochar, Hub Bridge and Nushki respectively.

The wheel-jam and shutter down strike was observed in Nushki, Dalbandin, Taftan, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Awaran, Kharan, Waushak, Panjgur, Pasni, Turbat, Hub, Lasbela, Mach, Dhadar, Sibi, Bhag, Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allahyar.

BNP-M, BNF and BSO thanked the people for extending support to the strike that was observed for three consecutive days to condemn the barbaric killing of Ghulam Muhammad Baloch chief of Baloch National Movement, Lal Munir executive committee member of the party and Sher Muhammad Baloch leader of Baloch Republican Party.

The provincial government education department in the province and Balochistan University administration has extended closure of the educational institutions for another three days and now the these institutions would reopen on Thursday. The examinations of board of intermediate and secondary education and Balochistan University were also put off and the new schedule for the tests would be made public later on.

Meanwhile Senator Dr. Malik Baloch, chief of National Party, has demanded the probing of the Turbat incident by the United Nations to bring facts before the people.

The NP president, accompanied by Mir Hasil Bizenjo senior vice president, Tahir Bizenjo secretary general and Kachkol Ali Baloch senior leader of the party, addressed a press conference after offering fateha of Lal Munir with the bereaved family in Panjgur on Sunday.

Dr. Malik alleged that the plot for the killing of three Baloch political leaders was hatched in Islamabad and asserted that the intelligence agencies had arrested Ghulam Muhammad, Lal Munir and Sher Muhammad and then murdered them.

He said those elements that had assassinated Nawab Akbar Bugti were also behind the Turbat incident and dubbing it as state terrorism. He was also critical of President Asif Zardari assertion that intelligence agencies were not part of the conspiracy.

The NP leader said that if President Zardari could investigate the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto by United Nations then why couldn’t the Turbat incident also be probed by the same international organization.

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