Quetta: Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, announced a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across Balochistan on September 8. He made the statement during an all-parties press conference in Quetta following the tragic Shahwani Stadium blast.
Achakzai said all train and flight services in the province would be suspended on the same day. He stressed that the strike would remain peaceful. “If we are attacked, then we will show that we are the rightful owners of this country and its roads,” he warned.
He questioned why his party members were targeted. “What crime have we committed by holding a peaceful rally?” Achakzai asked. He cited the Quran, which declares the killing of one innocent person as the killing of all humanity. He emphasized that exercising the right to hold political gatherings is a democratic right.
Watch: Mahmood Khan Achakzai addressing a press conference in Quetta on September 4, 2025.
Achakzai rejected any master-slave relationship in Pakistan. He stated that all nations must have equal rights: a Baloch in Balochistan, a Punjabi in Punjab, and a Sindhi in Sindh. He said his party does not believe in ethnic superiority but in equality and brotherhood.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, head of the Balochistan National Party, also spoke at the press conference. He confirmed that 14 party workers and one policeman were killed in the blast. He revealed that just 15 minutes before the attack, the workers were chanting “Pakistan Zindabad.”
Both leaders condemned the attack as an attack on humanity. They promised the sacrifices of their workers would not go in vain. Achakzai urged the state to engage in dialogue and respect citizens’ democratic rights.
He concluded by saying that the peaceful September 8 protest would show the strength and unity of the people. “We will stand for our rights, and our voices will not be silenced,” he said.
