Balochistan protests persist amid allegations of election rigging

Quetta [Balochistan], February 16 : Despite the reopening of national highways after six days of blockade, protest sit-ins and rallies continued across various regions of Balochistan, including the provincial capital Quetta, on February 15, against alleged election rigging, reported Dawn news.
"Our protest will continue against the alleged rigging, but we have opened highways considering the difficulties facing the people," said the leader of a protesting party, adding that no roads are blocked now.
According to Dawn, reports indicate that workers and supporters of the Jamhoori Watan Party blocked the Quetta-Jacobabad highway late in the evening, placing barricades and boundaries on the road.
A joint protest rally assembled on February 15 in Quetta, led by four nationalist parties--Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Hazara Democratic Party, Balochistan National Party-Mengal, and National Party--expressed resentment against what they called depriving elected candidates of their victory through result changes.
Marching through the streets of Quetta, participants displayed party symbols, placards, and banners, voicing their demands Participants of the rally chanted slogans against the Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker government, alleging that the rigging plan was prepared before the elections, as per Dawn.
The alliance leaders declared that their protest would continue until the actual results of the elected candidates were restored, announcing plans for a wheel jam strike and other forms of demonstration in subsequent phases.
Workers and leaders of the PkMAP staged a sit-in outside the Provincial Election Commission office, temporarily halting traffic on Zarghoon road.
Protests were also reported in Dera Murad Jamali, Turbat, Panjgur, and Gwadar, although coastal and CPEC highways in Makran were reopened, facilitating traffic flow between Gwadar and Karachi.
Balochistan caretaker Minister for Information, Jan Achakzai, urged citizens to reject calls for disruption from candidates and parties who were unsuccessful in the recent elections.
Achakzai emphasised that creating chaos and blocking roads are not solutions to existing problems. He characterised such actions as attempts by "rejected individuals" to mask their disappointment with the electoral outcome.
He emphasized the need for peaceful protests without disrupting public life and advised those with genuine concerns to seek legal recourse rather than resorting to disruptive protests.