Balochistan [Pakistan], September 10 : A province-wide shutdown and wheel-jam strike was observed across Balochistan on the call of the All Parties coalition, effectively bringing major cities and highways from Zhob to Gwadar to a halt, according to a report by The Balochistan Post (TBP).
Security forces, including police and levies personnel, launched a sweeping crackdown, arresting numerous political leaders and activists belonging to various parties in Quetta and other districts. In Quetta alone, authorities reportedly detained over 100 demonstrators from areas such as Sariab, Airport Road, Brewery, Bypass, and the city's central districts. Among those arrested were prominent leaders from the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Awami National Party (ANP), National Party (NP), and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), TBP reported on Tuesday.
Similar arrests took place in multiple districts across the province. In Surab, the BNP district president and three party workers were apprehended. In Mastung, BNP's district president and NP's district president were among 14 people detained. In Loralai, security forces arrested seven activists from ANP and PkMAP. Jafarabad saw eight arrests, while in Nasirabad, BNP's divisional president was among nine individuals taken into custody. In Duki, PTI's district general secretary and 15 others were detained. Additional arrests were also reported from Ziarat (Sanjawi), Qalat, and Chaman, where dozens of party workers were rounded up, TBP added.
ANP's provincial president accused the authorities of attempting to undermine what he described as a peaceful demonstration, claiming that police used excessive force and arrested hundreds, including several senior leaders. He alleged that repeated tear gas shelling took place near PkMAP's office in Quetta. The ANP leader asserted that the strike was "the most successful in Balochistan's history", shutting down businesses and transport links across the province, and called it a "referendum" against what he referred to as an imposed government.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) also condemned the crackdown, denouncing it as "an attack on democracy and human rights." The group criticised the government for failing to protect citizens from terrorism while simultaneously using force against peaceful demonstrators. "It raises the question of whether the people of this region are doomed to face violence from both terrorists and the state," BYC said in a statement, as reported by TBP.
TBP's report also mentioned that the BYC further pointed out that political activists in Balochistan have been repeatedly targeted by crackdowns in recent months and warned that attempts to suppress public movements would only worsen the province's instability. The organisation urged all political groups and the public to remain united and resist what it described as oppressive policies.