Traffic between Quetta and Karachi was suspended on Wednesda after members of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) blocked the RCD Highway in Khuzdar to protest the disappearance of Mir Yousaf Ali Khan Qalandrani.
According to JUI officials, the sit-in began in the Sunny area of Khuzdar and will continue until Qalandrani is recovered. The demonstration is being led by JUI leader Maulana Qamar-ud-deen, with the participation of Ali Muhammad Qalandrani, chief of the Qalandrani tribe, along with district representatives, tribal elders, and a large number of party workers.
Protesters said they would not end the blockade until authorities produced Qalandrani. The closure of the highway left long queues of passenger buses and freight trucks stranded on both sides.
Mir Yousaf Qalandrani, a resident of the Tootak area in Khuzdar, was reportedly detained in Karachi on 17 August 2025 and has since gone missing. His family and supporters claim he has been subjected to enforced disappearance.
This is not the first time members of the Qalandrani family have been targeted by Pakistani security forces. On 18 February 2011, troops surrounded Tootak village, conducting hours-long house-to-house searches. All male residents were rounded up and taken into custody. While some were later released, three of Yousaf Qalandrani’s brothers, his 82-year-old relative Muhammad Rahim Khan Qalandrani, and 16 other members of the family remain missing to this day.
The fresh disappearance has reignited anger in Khuzdar, with tribal representatives accusing authorities of targeting the Qalandrani family for years.