The Balochistan government has ordered security institutions to dismantle their “useless” highway security checkpoints. The step has been taken to address local grievances and restore peace in insurgency-hit Balochistan.
A special meeting of the provincial cabinet with Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo reviewed the law and order situation in the province. The group questioned setting up checkposts on the roads under the guise of security checking.
The provincial cabinet ordered federal and provincial security agencies to remove all barricades, which is a longstanding public demand.
The group agreed that no institution will set up a highway checkpoint without the provincial government’s consent in the future. It said that the home department must approve checkpoints before they are set up.
The meeting members agreed that detaining women, children, elderly persons, and patients at checkpoints for hours is pointless. They said the government and institutions must protect individuals.
The attendees claimed that if federal security services don’t have checkpoints on highways and cities in other provinces, Balochistan shouldn’t have them either.
