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Traffic between Quetta and northern Balochistan came to a grinding halt on Saturday as furious tribesmen and relatives of an 11-year-old boy, who was recently kidnapped, blocked the Quetta-Chaman highway near the Baleli area of the provincial capital.
The protest caused a major traffic jam, disrupting Afghan transit trade and halting other import-export activities, Dawn reported. Demonstrators obstructed the highway near the Pakistan Customs checkpost in Baleli by erecting barricades and parking numerous vehicles. This act of defiance followed the authorities' failure to locate the missing boy by Saturday. "We have no knowledge of the whereabouts of (the) abducted boy so far and no one has contacted the family," said Haji Raz Mohammad Kakar, the father of the kidnapped student. Police and other law enforcement agencies stated that they had conducted raids on suspected abductor hideouts in an effort to recover the boy safely. However, the lack of progress in the case only fuelled the protesters' frustration. In addition to the highway blockade, demonstrators obstructed traffic on the airport road near Askari Park, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded and causing significant disruption for motorists, reported Dawn. In solidarity with the victim's family, all jewellery shops and markets in the region were closed. This action was spearheaded by the Balochistan Jewellers' Association (BJA), as the boy's grandfather is a jeweller. A protest rally, led by the BJA president, saw jewellers marching through various roads while holding banners and placards to voice their demands. During the rally, speakers expressed discontent with law enforcement agencies, stressing that it is the government's duty to ensure public safety, Dawn reported. The issue of enforced disappearances remains a deeply troubling phenomenon in Balochistan, a region already plagued by political instability and conflict. These disappearances, where individuals are detained by security forces without legal acknowledgement or process, have instilled fear and uncertainty among the Baloch population. Human rights organisations frequently accuse Pakistani law enforcement and military forces of employing this tactic to suppress dissent and intimidate activists, students, and the general populace. (ANI)
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