QUETTA, Jan 25: Tribesmen of Urak valley staged a demonstration on Sunday at the press club to condemn the closure of a route through the Chiltan market by the cantonment board, that would extend their journey to the city by 10km.

Tribal elder Malik Nasir Khan Kakar led a procession from Hanna to the district government office and spoke at the demonstration. Speaking at a press conference later, he said inhabitants of the Urak area had been using the route through the cantonment area since its establishment before independence.

He said the Kakar tribesmen of the Hanna valley were peaceful citizens and enjoyed cordial relations with the army authorities. He said the cantonment board authorities had never received any complaint about the tribesmen. He said the Kakar tribe had always cooperated when its land was needed to extend the cantonment area.