Balochistan Traders Announce Province-Wide Shutdown Strike on July 17 in Support of Ziarat Victims’ Families
QUETTA: The Central Traders Association of Balochistan has announced a province-wide shutter-down strike on July 17 and district-level protest demonstrations on July 15 in support of the families of police personnel killed in the Ziarat tragedy.
In a joint statement, the association’s president Rahim Kakar, along with senior office-bearers including Hazrat Ali Achakzai, Yasin Mengal, Imran Tareen, Haji Saadullah Achakzai, Haji Hashim Kakar, and others, declared full support for the protest movement launched by the victims’ families and the All Parties and Martyrs of Mangi Protest Committee.
The association directed all market associations, city units, and district chapters across Balochistan to organize solidarity demonstrations on July 15 and ensure the complete closure of businesses during the July 17 province-wide strike.
The statement described the killing of a large number of police personnel in the Mangi area of Ziarat as one of the most tragic incidents in Balochistan’s history, adding that the victims’ families were pursuing a constitutional, democratic, and humanitarian struggle for justice.
The traders’ body expressed full solidarity with the bereaved families and endorsed what it described as their legitimate demands.
The association also voiced serious concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan, stating that traders, transporters, farmers, laborers, government employees, and ordinary citizens all face growing insecurity.
According to the statement, frequent attacks on national highways, armed robberies, the burning of cargo vehicles, kidnappings, terrorist incidents, and targeted killings have severely disrupted business activity and weakened the province’s economy. It added that unsafe highways have made travel between cities increasingly dangerous, while disruptions to the transportation of goods have placed the business community under severe financial pressure.
The association further claimed that the government’s writ appears to be weakening and warned that failure to restore peace and security could have long-term consequences for trade, investment, employment, and the overall economy of both Balochistan and Pakistan.
The traders urged the federal and provincial governments to immediately accept the families’ demands, ensure justice for the victims, restore law and order, secure national highways, and guarantee the safety of traders, transporters, government employees, and the general public.
The association concluded by appealing to the business community across the province to participate peacefully in the July 15 demonstrations and the July 17 shutter-down strike to express solidarity with the victims’ families and send a clear message that the people of Balochistan will not compromise on justice or their fundamental rights.
