A province-wide shutdown and wheel-jam strike paralysed Balochistan on Tuesday after the All Parties coalition called for demonstrations, with major cities and highways from Zhob to Gwadar brought to a standstill.
Security forces, including police and levies personnel, launched a sweeping crackdown, arresting scores of political leaders and activists from multiple parties across Quetta and other districts.
In the provincial capital alone, authorities reportedly detained more than 100 demonstrators from Sariab, Airport Road, Brewery, Bypass and central parts of the city.
Those arrested included senior figures 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).
Similar crackdowns were reported in several districts. In Surab, BNP’s district president and three party workers were taken into custody.
In Mastung, BNP’s district president and NP’s district president were among 14 people detained. Security forces in Loralai arrested seven activists from ANP and PkMAP, while in Jafarabad, eight individuals were held.
In Nasirabad, BNP’s divisional president was among nine arrested. In Duki, PTI’s district general secretary and 15 others were detained. Additional arrests were reported in Ziarat (Sanjawi), Qalat and Chaman, where dozens of party workers were rounded up, TBP added.
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ANP’s provincial president accused the authorities of attempting to sabotage what he described as a peaceful demonstration. He alleged that police resorted to excessive force, arresting hundreds, including senior leaders, and repeatedly firing tear gas near PkMAP’s office in Quetta.
He claimed the strike was “the most successful in Balochistan’s history,” shutting down businesses and transport links across the province, and described it as a “referendum” against what he called an imposed government.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) condemned the crackdown, calling it “an attack on democracy and human rights.”
In a statement reported by TBP, the group accused the government of failing to protect citizens from terrorism while using state power 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.
BYC further noted that political activists in Balochistan have repeatedly been targeted by crackdowns in recent months.
The group warned that suppressing public movements would only worsen instability in the province and urged political parties and citizens to remain united against what it described as oppressive policies.
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