QUETTA: The provincial capital experienced one of its worst traffic jams on Friday, lasting for several hours, as tribesmen and family members of a kidnapped 11-year-old boy blocked the main Zarghoon Road in protest.

The boy was abducted while traveling home from school.

According to police, he was on his way home in a school van when armed men intercepted the vehicle near his home in the Patel Bagh area, and kidnapped the boy, who is the son of a prominent tribal elder.

After the incident, a large number of people, including tribesmen and workers of political parties, gathered and blocked multiple points along Zarghoon Road, which led to widespread traffic disruption in various areas of Quetta.

The protesters also blocked the Quetta-Chaman Highway at the Yaro and Saranan areas, halting traffic between Quetta and Chaman.

As protesters set tires on fire and blocked main roads and roundabouts, Quetta witnessed a massive traffic jam for several hours, severely disrupting daily life.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on different roads, causing immense difficulty for residents. The protesters refused to call off sit-in until the boy was safely recovered.

The family of the kidnapped boy said that this was the second such incident. In 2020, one of their other children was also kidnapped and later found murdered.

The protest was called off late at night after negotiations between the protesters and the Quetta deputy inspector general of police.

The DIG assured the protesters that all possible efforts would be made to recover the kidnapped boy.

As a result, the demonstration was postponed until 2pm on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024