Pakistan Opposition Protest: Partial Shutdown In Balochistan On Election Anniversary

Opposition protests marking the anniversary of Pakistan’s disputed 2024 general election brought a partial shutdown to Balochistan on Sunday, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh recorded mixed reactions to the strike call.

The full shutter-down and traffic strike was issued by Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain Pakistan (TTAP), a united front of opposition parties that includes incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

After the February 8, 2024 general election, Khan had called the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as 'mandate thieves' alleging that they rigged the polls to steal his party's seats by manipulating results to come to power.

TTAP leaders echoed the sentiment as they called for a nation-wide shutter down and traffic strike on Sunday.

Normal life was disrupted in Balochistan capital Quetta and other parts of the province and public transport remained off the road with all markets closed, according to Hafiz Ziaullah, senior member of Jamiat Ulema Fazlur Rahman group, Balochistan chapter.

The government had ordered heavy police and frontier corp deployment as supporters of various component parties of the TTAP movement staged demonstrations at multiple locations, blocking highways and main roads leading into and out of Quetta.

Several protesters were arrested during clashes with law enforcement agencies, further escalating tensions, police said.

Balochistan saw considerable violence when at least 216 terrorists, 36 civilians and 22 personnel were killed in the days-long operation launched on January 26 in response to terror attacks at multiple places in the province.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s PTI is the ruling party, PTI reported that his followers also demanded to release their incarcerated founder, but received lukewarm response from across the province.

In Peshawar, the situation remained tense in various parts of the city; however, overall conditions stayed under control, police said.

The call for a shutter-down received a mixed response from traders and the public. While shops remained closed in some areas, business activities continued as usual in several localities.

Local media reports said that in certain areas, shops were forcibly closed during the strike, causing concern among residents.

Despite this, the Peshawar shutter-down failed to achieve complete success, as a large number of traders did not support the call and routine commercial activities continued partially, a party leader said.

However, even when the public movement in the city’s major commercial centres was restricted, it was not entirely suspended, the administration stated and added that strict security measures were in place during the shutter-down protests and no major untoward incident was reported.

In Punjab, the TTAP and PTI failed to put up any significant show as the three-day Basant festival (February 6 and 8) in Lahore announced by the provincial government eclipsed the protest calls.

According to PTI, sensing the mood of the people, especially those from Lahore, because of the Basant fever, the PTI Punjab had on Saturday asked its supporters to “suspend outdoor activity and stay home as a form of silent agitation.” However, the party had called upon traders and transporters to shut markets and transports but even when it was a Sunday, a weekly holiday in Punjab, almost all establishments remained open.

PTI reported that Punjab police detained over 100 Imran Khan's supporters on Saturday and Sunday in connection with the PTI protest.

He said the police also pounced on those who tried to take out torch-bearing rallies in different parts of the province.

Punjab Senior Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said the people of Lahore celebrated Basant festival with enthusiasm and totally rejected the protest call. “It was a successful Basant and flop PTI show,” she said in a statement.

On the other hand, PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza condemned the Punjab police for arresting the PTI workers and harassing the families during the police raid.

PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja said in a post on X: “No tyrant can compare to 250 million. It is a day of mourning over the stolen vote and terrorism in Balochistan and Islamabad.”

According to PTI, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister's Special Assistant for Information and Public Relations, Shafi Jan, in a statement said that the successful wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across the country, was a public referendum against mandate-stealing governments.

“Two years ago, the people gave an overwhelming mandate to PTI founder chairman Imran Khan, but unfortunately this public mandate was stolen and puppet rulers were imposed on the people in the federation, Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh,” he said.

Sunday’s successful wheel-jam and shutter-down strike is the first clear step and message of the public toward the end of fake governments, Jan said.

(With inputs from PTI)