Transporters across Balochistan have announced a complete shutdown of transport services starting Wednesday, in protest against what they describe as “unacceptable” standard operating procedures (SOPs) introduced after the recent Noshki attack by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The All Balochistan Coaches Transport Alliance announced this decision during a joint emergency press conference, highlighting grievances with the state’s handling of security measures.
Haji Mir Hikmat Lehri, who chaired the meeting, expressed the collective frustrations of Balochistan’s transporters. “The state is responsible for security issues, while the public and transporters are only obliged to cooperate. It is more efficient to check buses once rather than stopping them repeatedly,” Lehri stated. He warned that if their demands are not met, transporters are prepared to escalate their protest by shutting down national highways.
The meeting, attended by prominent transport owners and union leaders including Haji Habibullah Badini, Mir Akbar Lehri, and Haji Abdul Sattar, among others also voiced concerns over the ongoing protest by Quetta-Taftan and Quetta-Makuran transporters. Now in its ninth day, this protest is against the behavior of Pakistani security forces, which, according to transporters, involves unjustified harassment of passengers and drivers.