Gwadar continues to be fraught with tension despite the minister’s assertion that 42 of the GRM’s requests have already been met.
QUETTA: Tension persisted in the port city of Gwadar, Pakistan, for the fourth day in a row as Gwadar Rights Movement (GRM) activists continued to hold protest rallies to press for the fulfillment of their demands.
In Turbat and other areas of Balochistan’s Makran Division, police detained GRM activists.
On Thursday, Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, the leader of Gwadar Haq Do Tehreek, was charged with holding the populace prisoner for more than two months by Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove.
Langove attacked the Maulana and other GRM backers during a press conference at the Chief Minister Secretariat.
High-ranking representatives included Inspector General of Police Abdul Khaliq Sheikh, Parliamentary Secretary of Information Mitha Khan Kakar, and others.
The port city’s cellular and mobile services are still not operating due to the ongoing unrest.
In order to preserve law and order, the Balochistan government also banned pillion riding and the public exhibition of guns in Gwadar under Section 144.
Langove alleged that “the demonstrators are damaging both public and private properties in Gwadar.”
The GRM leaders, however, asserted that the government was employing force against the populace to put an end to what they believed to be a peaceful protest. Stones and bricks were hurled at the Gwadar police officers by enraged demonstrators.
Maulana Rehman and other GRM leaders were the subject of numerous conversations, according to the minister of the province. He asserted that the administration was serious about addressing the problems faced by the people of Gwadar and that the majority of the demands of the Maulana and other leaders had been satisfied.
The minister stated that “the government has already accepted 42 of the GRM’s demands.”
The port city’s roads and streets were desolate as police officers with batons were stationed around the area.
The GRM asserted that a significant number of its activists had been detained by the police. Maulana Rehman urged the government to release all activists who had been detained and to deal with the problems facing the citizens of Gwadar.
According to Langove, Gwadar represents the country’s future, and the government is dedicated to investing in its growth as well as that of other Balochistan regions to bring them up to par with other developed areas of Pakistan.
