By Malik Siraj Akbar
QUETTA: Since the killing of government spokesman Raziq Bugti, Quetta has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of security checkposts. Though the government justifies Frontier Corps-manned checkposts as a security need, civil society organisations resent the posts as “a tool to harass the citizens”.
Around 20 new checkposts have been set up in Quetta, mainly in Baloch-dominated areas. Zarghoon Road, which has many official buildings across it, is a highly guarded road in the provincial capital. Locals have to undergo a series of unending inquiries by security personnel deployed along Zarghoon Road.
Rehmat Baloch, an opposition lawmaker in the Balochistan Assembly, told Daily Times that many checkposts had the national flag hoisted on them, adding that this war-time practice was only found in newly conquered cities. “We don’t understand what message the Frontier Corps wants to convey to the people of Balochistan.”
Security measures irk businessmen: Shopkeepers criticise security forces patrolling in the city with armoured personnel vehicles. They say that police create unnecessary panic among the people by forcibly closing shops before business hours.
“We have a lot of customers who come after evening,” said Hamid Javed, head of the All Balochistan Hairdressers’ Association, “but due to official restrictions on business hours, we have been losing many of our customers.” Balochistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tariq Masood Khosa said no compromise would be made on law and order. In September, Superintendent of Police (SP) Sheryab Hussain and his two guards were among five security personnel killed in two separate incidents.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist organisation, claimed responsibility for the killings. BLA spokesman Bibarg Baloch told Daily Times: “We have prepared a target list of security personnel operating against Baloch people and the killings were executed according to the list.”
The IGP admitted that the police had not been able to arrest the perpetrators of the recent high profile killings, include the killings of Raziq and Sheryab. A massive crack-down was launched in Quetta soon after the SP’s murder. Around 350 people were arrested from the Qili Ismail area of Quetta. Many of them are still behind bars.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and other civil bodies have condemned the arrests.
Balochistan Assembly Opposition Leader Kachol Ali Baloch said, “Mass arrests demonstrate the failure of police to arrest the culprits. Most of the arrested people were from Quetta slums.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200710 3story_3-10-2007_pg7_25 |
