Quetta: As a direct fallout of last Saturday's killing of Balochistan leader Akbar Khan Bugti, the agitation in Baluchistan is now spreading, and on Wednesday, the main RCD Highway connecting Baluchistan to the rest of Pakistan was sealed by protesting Baloch.
Life in Quetta, besides other parts of Balochistan has been severely affected by a partial strike.
Trucks carrying supplies from Sindh to other parts of Pakistan were stopped. Those trucks carrying goods from Punjab province were particularly targeted.
All along the RCD Highway on Wednesday, bands of Baloch youth, shouting `Azadi' slogans, brought traffic to a complete standstill.
"We have nothing to do with Pakistan and its rulers (Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz), who have killed Bugti saheb," said some of the protesters.
Heavy boulders and roads have been placed on various parts of the highway, while Quetta City was cut-off from the highway.
Protesters putting up burnt tyres and raising barriers at the Hub River Bridge linking Karachi to Balochistan have cut off the road from Sindh to the industrial city of Hub.
The enraged demonstrators have also raised barriers on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway at Lakh Pas, Mastung, Qalat, Khuzdar, Wadh and other areas obstructing all sorts of traffic.
The road between Quetta and Iran has also been blocked off. Traffic has also been blocked at Nowshki, Dalbadin, Chaghi and Taftan.
The anger is spilling over, and the violence has wrecked large parts of Baluchistan, where the mood is to cut off ties and communication with the rest of the country.
Reports of violence and destruction of property have come in from areas like Turbat, Mand, Tump, Baleda, Dasht, Punjgur and Mastung. In Turbat, an under construction radio transmission building was damaged extensively.
Agitators were also reported to have staged a protest demonstration along the Coastal Highway in Gawadar; and some shops were ransacked in Chaghi.
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