Pak: Gwadar witnesses agitations after labour killed by Coast Guard
Feb 17, 2024
Gwadar [Pakistan], February 17 : A protest erupted on Saturday in the Kuntani Hor area of Gwadar, Balochistan, after the Pakistani coast guard killed a local Baloch labourer at sea. Reportedly, the coast guard killed the labourer by hitting their speedboat onto his kayak, The Balochistan Post reported.
The dead body of the victim of the Coast Guard could not be recovered from the sea. After the event, the members of the Haq Do Tehreek Balochistan have called upon all the officials and the general public to gather near the district collector office to protest against the heinous act. Haq Do Tehreek has said that the sit-in of kayakers, pick-up people, and people associated with Kantani business is going on against the killing of poor labourers in Kuntani, the report added.
Moreover, the Balochistan province in Pakistan has been the centre of protest for a very long time now. Previously, Hub Chowki, an industrial city in Balochistan, was rocked by a protest on Thursday as hundreds of citizens of the area came together to raise their voices against a violent crossfire that took place between two rival election candidates and their supporters recently, The Balochistan Post said in another report.
According to that report, violence erupted near the Civic Centre, where the votes of the PB-21 constituency were being recounted. Both sides declared their victory after the 2024 general elections in Pakistan.
The political candidates involved in the crossfire were Ali Hassan Zehri from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Bhootani group. The crossfire between the two rival groups left 2 people dead and 11 injured. However, the authorities intervened later. One of the victims of the crossfire, identified as Sikkandar Chatna, belonged to the Bhootani group.
The city administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in Hub Chowki and banned pillion riding, carrying weapons, and political gatherings for a month. The protestors at the Hub Chowki, as reported in the same news piece, blocked roads, demanding that the culprits of the 'heinous act' be arrested.
The protestors claimed further that the supporters of Zehri were openly flaunting their weapons at that time, and the administration supported them, instead of bringing the culprits to justice.
Additionally, local sources cited in the Balochistan Post report claimed that the police were negotiating with the people of Bhootani Group over the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against the PPP supporters. A delegation of the Bhootani group also met with the SP of Hub Chowki.
