{"id":59648,"date":"2024-02-13T16:20:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/balochistan-protests-and-shutter-down-strike-sparked-by-alleged-poll-rigging\/"},"modified":"2024-02-13T16:20:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:20:08","slug":"balochistan-protests-and-shutter-down-strike-sparked-by-alleged-poll-rigging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/balochistan-protests-and-shutter-down-strike-sparked-by-alleged-poll-rigging\/","title":{"rendered":"Balochistan Protests and Shutter Down Strike Sparked by Alleged Poll Rigging"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Manan Mandokhail:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

QUETTA:<\/strong>\u00a0In Quetta and across Balochistan, a widespread shutter-down strike paralyzed daily life as citizens protested against purported poll rigging following recent general elections. Four prominent political entities \u2013 Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), National Party (NP), and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) \u2013 spearheaded the strike, denouncing what they claimed to be unprecedented electoral fraud.<\/p>\n

Life Paralyzed<\/h2>\n

Ghulam Nabi Marri, a key figure in BNP, asserted, \u201cOur protest will persist until transparent elections are ensured.\u201d He issued a stern warning to both provincial and federal authorities, emphasizing the severity of the alleged rigging.<\/p>\n

Throughout Quetta and various Balochistan cities, markets, shops, and businesses shuttered in solidarity with the strike called by the four major political factions. Concurrently, protest rallies erupted outside returning officers\u2019 offices across the province, with candidates and parties demanding the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct recounts in numerous constituencies.<\/p>\n

Protesters Announce To Continue Protest<\/h2>\n

Abdul Qahar Wadan of PKMAP echoed the sentiment, demanding justice amidst allegations of rampant poll manipulation.<\/p>\n

In Quetta\u2019s high-security zone, demonstrators amassed outside the Deputy Commissioner\u2019s office for the fourth consecutive day, decrying the purported electoral irregularities. Meanwhile, Pashtoonkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP), Khushal Khan Kakar, declared an indefinite blockade of Balochistan\u2019s highways, vowing to escalate the protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blockade will commence on Wednesday,\u201d announced the PNAP Chief, underscoring frustration over perceived electoral injustice.<\/p>\n

Common People The Worst Sufferers<\/h2>\n

However, the blockade\u2019s repercussions extended beyond political discourse, adversely affecting ordinary citizens. Muhammad Nauman, a stranded passenger on the Quetta-Karachi highway, lamented, \u201cWe have been stranded for two days.\u201d The blockade disproportionately impacted vulnerable demographics, including patients, women, and children, highlighting the collateral damage inflicted by political unrest in Balochistan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manan Mandokhail:\u00a0 QUETTA:\u00a0In Quetta and across Balochistan, a widespread shutter-down strike paralyzed daily life as citizens protested against purported poll rigging following recent general elections. Four prominent political entities \u2013 Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), National Party (NP), and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) \u2013 spearheaded the strike, denouncing what they claimed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.quettavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shutter-down-strike-quetta-.jpg?resize=1600,900&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quetta-zila-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t