Protesters who had blocked the road at Governor’s House, Thokar Niaz Beg and Imamia Colony ended their sit-ins at around 11am on Monday after the federal government gave in to their demand for governor’s rule in Balochistan.
The protesters had demanded the dissolution of the political government in the province and the takeover of all security matters by the army after Thursday’s horrific suicide bombings in Quetta targeting the Hazara community in which over a hundred people were killed and twice as many wounded.
Responding to calls for protest by Shia parties after the families of the victims of the bombings had started their moving protest at Alamdar Road in Quetta, and in similar scenes in big cities across the country, thousands of people gathered on The Mall in front of Governor’s House from Friday, at Imamia Colony from Saturday, and at Thokar Niaz Beg from Sunday.
Long queues of vehicles built up at the railway crossing on GT Road and at the Motorway as the protesters blocked traffic.
There was a major outpouring of emotion among the participants when it was announced in the early hours of Monday morning that the federal government had imposed governor’s rule in Balochistan.
They chanted slogans and beat their chests, and many wept.
But the protesters did not leave until around 11am, after listening to a telephonic address by Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, the secretary general of the Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen Pakistan.
In his speech, Abbas thanked the protesters for remaining peaceful. He said that their efforts had brought down the “apathetic” provincial government.
He said that they should be prepared to stage further protests should the government fail to provide security to the Shia community in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2013.