QUETTA: Traffic between Balochistan and other provinces was disrupted for several hours on Wednesday as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) staged a wheel-jam strike.
The protest was called against alleged rigging in the Jan 5 by-election for the provincial constituency PB-45 (Quetta-8), in which the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate was declared the winner by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
JUI-F leaders claimed the results from 15 polling stations were altered on Form-47 to favour the PPP candidate, whereas Form-45 allegedly showed a victory for the JUI-F candidate.
Protesters blocked national highways at multiple points, including Baleli, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Mastung, Uthal, Loralai, D.G. Khan Road, Hub, Lasbela, Khuzdar, Awaran, Surab, Kalat, Qila Saifullah, Ziarat, Usta Muhammad, Dera Murad Jamali, Dera Allah Yar, Turbat and Gwadar. Other key routes, such as the Quetta-Taftan and Noshki-Kharan highways, were also obstructed.
Protesters torched tyres and placed barricades and boulders on the roads, bringing traffic to a complete halt. Hundreds of vehicles, including trucks, buses and private cars, were stranded, causing significant inconvenience to travellers and transporters.
The JUI-F leadership decided to end the wheel jam strike at 2pm, citing the difficulties faced by transporters and passengers. Traffic on highways was gradually restored.
The party declared the strike a success.
Behram Baloch in Gwadar, Ali Jan Mangi in Dera Murad Jamali and Abdul Wahid Shahwani in Khuzdar also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2025