Shutter down strike observed in Balochistan

To protest against rigging in Pak polls

A complete shutter down strike was observed in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan province on Tuesday to protest against alleged rigging in the recent general elections.

Four political parties, including the Balochistan National Party (Mengal), National Party (NP), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), have been jointly holding protests since Saturday in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan province against the outcome of the February 8 polls.

Independent candidates, mostly backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, won 101 seats in the 266-member National Assembly, followed by former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 75 seats, and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54 seats.

For a fourth successive day, the workers of the four parties have blocked the highways linking the province with the rest of the country. On Tuesday, the blockades on the highways continued to disrupt traffic while a complete shutter down strike was observed in the capital city.

Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shahi, the central leader of the National Party, said the protests would continue until the Election Commission of Pakistan heard the cases of those “deserving candidates” of the four parties who were robbed of their wins through “rigging” by returning officers. “There has been massive rigging in many constituencies of the province and we don’t accept the results,” he told the media.