The shutter down strike in the port city of Gwadar entered its third day on Wednesday when police detained several demonstrators amid fights with Haq Do Tehreek members (HDT).
An FIR had not yet been filed against Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, despite the home minister’s instructions to police authorities to do so after a police officer was killed in confrontations the day before.
According to local media reports, the administration has approached Jamaat-i-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch to assist in restoring normalcy and resolving the issues that have come to be a point of dispute between the government and the HDT.
Protesters blocked all types of incoming and outgoing traffic on the major roads and highways that connect Gwadar with other Makran towns and cities on Wednesday.
Reports state that demonstrators also surrounded Gwadar’s deputy commissioner’s home and other buildings. Police fired blank rounds and launched tear gas shells to disperse the mob.
According to the HDT, during the protest, over 80 individuals were detained by police and members of the Frontier Corps in Gwadar and Pasni towns. There were additional reports of strikes in the Gwadar district’s Pasni, Ormara, Jeweni, Surbander, and Pishikan neighborhoods.
A spokesperson for the Balochistan administration declared that the government would carry out its obligation to restore permanent peace and safeguard the lives and property of the populace.
He added that the city has received an additional 900 police officers and that demonstrators have been driven off of many major thoroughfares, including Marine Drive and the port road.
