Casualties as hundreds continue their protest in Chaman
Pakistan
Protesting against government's passports and visa policy for trade on Pak-Afghan border
QUETTA (Web Desk) - Chaman continues to be the epicentre of violent clashes between protesters and law-enforcement agencies as protest continued unabated on Friday which left 20 people injured.
The injured included eight security personnel. LEAs arrested 45 people for allegedly causing damage to public and private properties and attacking security personnel.
The passenger train service between provincial capital Quetta and Chaman remained suspended, says a senior official.
Despite repeated assurances from tribal elders to contain protesters in a designated area, the demonstrators took to main arteries of the border town with sticks and stones.
Reneging on their promises, they pelted the shopkeepers who opened their shops with stones.
Participants in the months-long sit-in have been protesting against the government decision of allowing cross-border movement to only those having valid passports and visas.
Earlier, residents of Pak-Afghan borders would travel to each other's territory by showing their identity cards to the officials.
Besides, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti presided over a meeting on Friday in which it was decided that no one would be allowed to challenge the writ of the state and normal order restored at any cost.
Meanwhile, other parties including the ANP staged a protest in front of the Quetta Press Club to show solidarity with protesters. PTI leader Asad Qaiser, while taking up the issue on the National Assembly floor, suggested that the government formed a committee to meet demands of the protesters in Chaman.
