QUETTA: The issue of “prolonged” stopping of vehicles at security checkpoints across Balochistan was discussed in the provincial assembly on Tuesday, with members on both sides of the aisle expressing strong displeasure on it.

The assembly session, chaired by Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, started an hour later than its scheduled time.

As the first order of the business, the newly elected MPA from PB-21 Hub, PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri, took oath as a member of the assembly.

Nawab Aslam Raisani, the parliamentary leader of JUI-F, took up the issue of checking at security checkpoints established on national highways and other roads.

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“Buses, coaches and other vehicles are stopped at the Luck Pass, between Quetta and Mastung, for three to four hours by the security personnel,” Mr Raisani claimed.

He added that Frontier Corps personnel even ask provincial assembly members and parliamentarians where they are coming from and where they are going.

Mr Raisani demanded these checkpoints be abolished.

The opposition leader, Mir Younas Aziz Zehri, pointed out that the journey from Quetta to Mastung takes one hour, but these frequent stops increase travel time to four hours.

PPP’s Sanaullah Zehri and Maulana Hidayatur Rehman of Jammat-i-Islami also opposed stopping buses and other vehicles for hours at the checkpoints and demanded their removal.

Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti assured the house that he would take up the matter with Frontier Corps officials and other relevant authorities.

Mr Rehman also pointed out that people in his constituency, Gwadar, have been staging a sit-in for the last 12 days to reopen the border with Iran for trade.

He said locals have no means other than the border trade to earn livelihood for their families.

He said the government should take notice of this situation and resolve the border issue.

The house passed the Balochistan Institution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and referred two bills — Balochistan Dispute Resolution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Balochistan Tax on Land Agricultural Income (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — to relevant committees.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024