QUETTA, April 6: Balochistan National Party activists blocked the National Highway at different places between Quetta and Karachi from Wednesday midnight till Thursday afternoon to protest against the arrest of two guards and a driver of party chief Akhtar Mengal in Karachi.

Police resorted to aerial firing, tear gas shelling and baton charge in the Sariab area here to disperse the protestors who had burnt tyres to block the highway. Several persons were injured in police action.

Balochistan National Party (Mengal) Vice-President Sajid Tareen said in a statement that nine party activists were arrested in Quetta and two, Manzoor Baloch and Musa, injured in baton charge in Mastung.

Mr Tareen claimed that the blockade was lifted after the Sindh government assured Mr Mengal that those arrested would be handed over to police from the custody of an intelligence agency.

He said that a lawyers’ panel, headed by Ghulam Shah, visited the Darakhshan police station in Karachi but did not find the guards and driver in the lockup.

Mr Tareen said that the Four-Party Baloch Alliance met here under the chairmanship of Mir Hasil Bizenjo, secretary-general of the National Party, to discuss the besieging of Mr Mengal’s house and harassing of his children by intelligence personnel.

The meeting criticized the handing over of arrested civilians to an intelligence agency in violation of law and termed it a breach of trust, observing a senior police official had assured Mr Mengal that the detained people would remain in police custody.

The statement thanked the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Awami National Party, People’s Party Parliamentarians and other democratic parties for expressing solidarity with Mr Mengal against intelligence agencies and criticising the siege to his residence.

The alliance decided to convene a meeting of opposition parties on Friday to determine a strategy ‘in the wake of intelligence agencies’ interferences in political affairs,’ said Mr Tareen.