CHAGAI: Local residents on Saturday blocked the RCD Highway at Taftan for hours in protest against prolonged closure of the gate meant for tax-free trade with Iran.

Local tribal leaders and political and religious figures, along with their supporters, suspended traffic on the highway at Saindak Cross.

The road was finally reopened in the afternoon after successful negotiations between protesters and the assistant commissioner of Taftan.

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Najeebullah Mohammad Hasni, Mohammad Sharif Mengal and Essa Khan Sherzai said the residents of border town of Taftan had been suffering hardships as thousands of labourers had become jobless after the trade gate was closed.

They said the trade gate between Taftan and Mir Javeh border was the main point for import of edible commodities and other daily-use items for the people living in Taftan and other parts of Chagai district and surroundings areas.

They warned that the protest would be expanded if the gate was not reopened.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2021