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Protests continue on Sariab Road in Pakistan's Quetta as negotiations between the leaders of a long march from Turbat and the local administration did not come to a result over "extra-judicial killing" of a Baloch youth by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) last Thursday, Dawn reported.
Hundreds of protesters, including family members of Balach Mola Bakhsh, have been protesting for the last two weeks against his killing in a CTD operation in Turbat. Moreover, they also threatened to take their protest to the Red Zone of Islamabad if their demands were not accepted, according to Dawn. Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai and senior officials of the Quetta administration, including Quetta commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, deputy commissioner Saad Bin Asad and others visited the sit-in and held conversations with leaders of the long march. The officials said that the government has accepted the marchers' main demands, which included the registration of an FIR against CTD officials and an inquiry into the "extra-judicial" killing, reported Dawn. Achakzai also told the protesters that they had the right to protest in any area of Quetta, except the Red Zone. "The administration will not allow the entry of protesters to the Red Zone, which is a sensitive area and there are threats of terrorist attacks," Achakzai said, stressing that the government was taking steps to resolve the issue through talks. Moreover, the CTD officials involved in the operation have been suspended on the orders of the Balochistan High Court. Additionally, an inquiry team comprising senior police officials has also been constituted to investigate the matter further, according to Dawn. The protestors reached Quetta and gathered on Sariab Road on Monday night. However, the victim's family has refused to accept the CTD claim about the alleged encounter, adding that an additional sessions judge of Turbat had remanded Balach into CTD custody when he was produced before the court. Furthermore, workers of different political parties, activists of the Haq Do Tehreek, Baloch Yakjehti Council and civil society members also participated in the protest in Turbat for two weeks, and later they headed towards Quetta. Reportedly, the CTD termed the killing a result of "armed clashes with militants", adding that three more suspects were killed in the clash on Pasni Road in the north of Kech's district headquarters, Turbat, according to Dawn. (ANI)
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