Pakistani security forces surrounded a protest sit-in led by Sardar Akhtar Mengal at Lakpass, Mastung, on Sunday, amid attempts to arrest the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief under public order laws.
According to official sources, the deployment was ordered to carry out Mengal’s arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.
In a post on X, Mengal said his group was “completely encircled” and warned of a potential crackdown.
“We are currently stationed at Lakpass, completely encircled by security forces. A major operation against us is imminent,” he wrote.
Mengal called on BNP supporters and protesters across Balochistan to shut down national highways in response.
“Let the world witness this injustice. We remain peaceful, but resolute,” he added. “Whatever unfolds today — the consequences, the blood, the fallout — will rest solely on the shoulders of the government and the local administration.”
The BNP-M launched a long march from Wadh to Quetta on 28 March to protest the arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch, as well as the violent dispersal of a sit-in in Quetta. Sammi was released on Tuesday, but others remain in detention.
The sit-in at Lakpass, now in its tenth day, has continued amid a standoff with the provincial government, which has insisted the march must not proceed beyond Quetta’s Sariab Road.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that Mengal had been informed early Saturday morning of the arrest orders.
“He was informed at 6am about the MPO order. He refused to surrender,” Rind said, adding that law enforcement officials had “clearly told him” that any movement toward Quetta would result in his arrest.
Rind also criticised Mengal’s call to block highways, saying it would disrupt public life. However, local sources and reporters said the government itself has already blocked major roads across the region.
Authorities have placed shipping containers around the Lakpass protest site and sealed key roads leading to Quetta. Internet services have also been suspended in Quetta, Mastung, Kalat and Khuzdar, according to local sources.
Entry points to Quetta have been sealed with shipping containers and trenches, while the RCD Highway — a key route linking Nushki with other parts of Balochistan — has been shut down by police and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel, leaving passenger buses and travelers stranded.