QUETTA, Dec 26: Activists of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) on Tuesday blocked main highways connecting the provincial metropolis with Karachi and Taftan. They were protesting against the ongoing military operation in the province, exploitation of resources and “extra-judicial arrests”.

A large number of people were stranded because of the forcible closure of Quetta-Karachi and Quetta-Taftan routes. Busses and cargo vehicles left for Karachi, Sukkur and Taftan in the evening after the re-opening of roads.

A statement issued here on Tuesday by the BNP-M thanked the people and transporters for keeping their vehicles off the roads, making the strike called by the party successful.

The BNP-M condemned the government for implicating party’s chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal in what it termed false police cases and said that the party would not bow to government pressure, adding that it would not abandon its anti-government agitation.

According to the BNP-M statement the basic aim of the current political movement was to exposes excesses and injustices perpetrated by usurpers.

The BNP urged the Baloch nationalist groups and other democratic and progressive political parties to support its struggle against undemocratic rulers.

Meanwhile, officials here claimed that the strike was a failure as the traffic continued on the highways and stated that vehicles continued to move normally on all highways towards Karachi, Sibi, Nushki and Zhob.