The Balochistan Home Department has imposed Section 144 along sections of the N-25 national highway passing through Surab district and the Khuzdar district areas of Khuzdar and Wadh.
According to a notification issued by the Home Department, protests, sit-ins, rallies, road blockades and other activities that could disrupt traffic or pose a risk to public order have been prohibited on the highway.
The notification stated that the N-25 is an important inter-district and inter-provincial route and that its closure creates difficulties for passengers, patients, traders, transporters and the general public.
The Balochistan government has directed the relevant deputy commissioners and police authorities to ensure effective implementation of the order and maintain the uninterrupted flow of traffic on the highway.
The order will remain in force for three months. However, the competent authority may amend, revoke or extend it earlier in accordance with the law.
The order comes a day after protests were held on the highway in Surab against reported shelling by Pakistani forces on a mosque and residential areas. Local traders in Surab also staged a sit-in and blocked the highway in protest against a robbery at shops the previous night.
The N-25 is one of Balochistan’s main transport arteries, linking Quetta with Karachi and several districts of central and southern Balochistan. The highway has frequently witnessed protests, sit-ins and road blockades over security incidents, enforced disappearances and other local grievances.
Section 144 of Pakistan’s Code of Criminal Procedure allows authorities to impose temporary restrictions on public gatherings and certain activities in the interest of public order and security. The provision has frequently been used in Balochistan during periods of heightened security tensions, political unrest and public protests.