KHUZDAR: The National Party (NP) staged a protest rally here on Sunday against giving the control of coastal islands in Balochistan to the federal government through a presidential ordinance.

Hundreds of the participants of the rally marched on the roads of the district headquarters chanting slogans against the federal government’s decision.

They later gathered in front of the Press Club where NP’s regional secretary Salman Zehri, Wahdat Amin Dost Baloch, tehsil president Abdul Wahab Gholamani and Baloch Students Organisation (Pajjar)’s zonal president Khalil Ahmed Baloch addressed the protesters.

They said that under the presidential ordinance the coastal islands would be brought under the federal administration which was against the Constitution and people of the province would not accept it.

“Balochistan and the Baloch people are in grave danger. This process will not only increase unemployment but also displace thousands of people living in the coastal areas. We do not accept the ordinance in any case and will not tolerate it,” they said.

They also warned the provincial government not to exceed its limits in sympathy with the federation.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2020