BYC protesters unknowingly fulfilling India’s agenda, claims minister

KARACHI: As supporters of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) continue to stage demonstrations despite reaching an agreement with the government, Balochistan Home Minister Zia Ullah Langau has said that the protesters were "unknowingly" fulfilling India's agenda.

"Some people are unknowingly fulfilling the Indian agenda [...] India is trying unsuccessfully to use our people against us," Langau said in a video statement issued on Monday. The minister's remarks refer to the ongoing sit-ins of the BYC in various places across Balochistan after it had inked an agreement with the local administration and had called off its protests on Thursday last week.

However, despite the talks, the protests, calling for the recovery of missing persons, have continued with the demonstrations demanding the government to implement their agreement, release arrested protesters, and annul the first information reports (FIRs) filed against them.

The BYC supporters have called on the administration to completely remove obstacles and re-open the roads as they fear being stranded in between due to closed routes — which are also hindering the return of the protesters.

A day earlier, officials said that the government was ready to provide transport to the protesters for their return and noted that the roads would be opened and the communications system would be restored as soon as the sit-in participants left Gwadar.

Continuing on the ongoing demonstrations, the home minister said that the protesting women are our own people and the government wants the sit-ins to end peacefully.Lamenting the continuation of the protests even after an agreement was reached to end them, Langau said that the government even accepted the demands of the protesters which were unacceptable in their nature.

"We released all the arrested persons [75 of them] on the protesters' demands," he said. Highlighting India's anti-Pakistan activities, the politician said that New Delhi was creating obstacles and hindrances in the completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects which are imperative to the country's progress and development.

"Neither the people of Gwadar are being deprived of their rights nor the development is being hindered," the minister said while requesting the masses to not "push the province further into darkness".

"We have to think about Balochistan's future and thwart [these] international conspiracies," he noted. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the ongoing protests have led to a shortage of petrol in various areas due to closed roads.

A day earlier, the administration had said that the sit-ins had not only caused pilgrims to be left stranded due to the closure of the Makran Coastal Highway and other roads but had also resulted in a shortage of food items in the Makran division.