ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced its support for the shutter-down strike in Balochistan on September 8.
PTI boycotted the National Assembly session and held its own “People’s Assembly” outside the House. During the session, PTI declared support for the strike call in Balochistan given by Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Akhtar Mengal.
The People’s Assembly of PTI also endorsed the speech of Justice Athar Minallah. In addition, the assembly passed a resolution seeking an extension in the repatriation deadline for Afghan citizens.
Earlier on Thursday,Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and Balochistan National Party (BNP), along with other political groups, announced a province-wide wheel-jam and shutter-down strike on September 8 in protest against the recent suicide blast outside a stadium in Quetta.
The blast had left at least 15 people dead and 35 others injured, which occurred outside Shahwani Stadium Tuesday night as supporters of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) were leaving a rally.
PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said at a joint press conference that the attack had raised painful questions. “The Quran says killing one innocent is like killing all of humanity. But we fail to understand what crime we committed. What did we say in our rally that warranted such a tragedy?” he asked.
Achakzai said 75 years had passed, yet people remained under the yoke of slavery. “We will never accept a master-slave relationship,” he said. “Balochistan is part of Pakistan, and we consider everyone equal. We do not believe in ethnic supremacy; we are all brothers.”
He warned that his party could resort to violent protest if it wished but would not play with public emotions. “We will continue to hold rallies, and we will hold them openly. If anyone harms our children, they will not be able to walk these roads,” he said. Achakzai called for peaceful protests across Balochistan on September 8.
The PkMAP chief also stressed that every community deserved rights in its homeland. “The Baloch should have rights over Balochistan, Sindhis over Sindh, and Punjabis over Punjab,” he said.
BNP President Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal condemned the September 2 blast, calling it a heartbreaking tragedy that killed 15 people. “Just 15 minutes before the explosion, our workers were chanting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans,” he recalled.
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Mengal said this was not the first such incident. “If lessons had been learned from the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006, we would not be facing such days,” he said.
