Balochistan Government Withdraws Case, Opposition Sit-In Ends

Opposition members of the Balochistan Assembly have called off a 13-day protest at a police station in Quetta.

The opposition ended its protest after the withdrawal of a case registered against members of the assembly and party workers on charges of vandalism, rioting and violence against police personnel. On Sunday morning, the assembly members marched from the police station to the MPA hostel and then went home.

Earlier, a delegation of provincial ministers led by Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Lango reached the police station late last night and handed over the notification of withdrawal of the case by the government to opposition leader Malik Sikandar.

On the occasion, Interior Minister Ziaullah Langu also apologized to the opposition members and said that the case registered against the opposition was wrong and was withdrawn.

Opposition leader Malik Sikandar Advocate said that we will continue to protest against the neglect of opposition constituencies in the budget and will also raise our voice in the Assembly session convened on July 6 on relocation.

A case was registered against 17 opposition members of the Balochistan Assembly under section 17, including attempted murder, for rioting during the budget session on June 18 during a protest against the neglect of the development budget.

On June 21, the MLAs nominated in the case reached the police station to make a self-arrest, but the police refused to arrest and detain them on government instructions, prompting the opposition to hold a sit-in inside the police station.