Pakistan: Over 100 arrested as Gwadar unrest grows

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 30 (ANI): As many as 100 people have been arrested in Balochistan’s port city of Gwadar as the provincial government struck with an iron fist at protesters and imposed an emergency law that prohibits the gathering of five or more people.

The arrests come a day after the provincial government imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Gwadar, the Dawn newspaper reported. “There will be a ban on all kinds of rallies, protests, sit-ins and gatherings of five or more people in the port city of Gwadar,” the Balochistan home department said in a statement.

Despite Section 144, workers and supporters of the Maulana Rehman-led Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) continued their protest, demanding the release of all people and activists of the movement.

Tensions continued to simmer in Pakistan’s port city of Gwadar with protests continuing after clashes with supporters of the ‘Haq Do Tehreek’ (HDT). The clashes occurred this month between locals and security forces in Gwadar as protests against illegal fishing turned violent after some people were arrested in the port city.

The provincial government had contacted Jamaat-i-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch to help restore normalcy and resolve the issues that have become a bone of contention between the government and the HDT, the Dawn newspaper reported citing sources.

After clashes between protesters and the police in several areas of Gwadar. Protestors have blocked the main highway linking the port city with other districts of the Makran division.

The Pakistani newspaper said the port city remained cut off from Karachi and other areas and all incoming and outgoing traffic was suspended.

The HDT activists have been protesting in the city for nearly two months. Their demands include an end to illegal trawling in Gwadar’s water, the high number of security checkpoints and an opening up of trade on the Pak-Iran border.

As the HDT protests threaten to blow up on Pakistan’s ruling establishment, the country’s media has urged provincial authorities in Balochistan to exercise restraint.
“While violence cannot be condoned, the state needs to handle this issue with care,” the Dawn newspaper said in an editorial.