Nighttime travel on key highways banned in Balochistan

QUETTA: Amidst the worsening security situation, the Balochistan government has barred nighttime travel on major highways in several districts, mostly for public transportation.

The decision has been taken owing to an increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan in which passengers were also singled out and shot dead.

Deputy commissioners of the districts of Gwadar, Kachhi, Zhob, Noshki and Musakhel issued notifications prohibiting travel at night were issued. The Quetta administration also mandated that nighttime road traffic for public transportation leaving the city be prohibited.

He convened a meeting when “it was decided that public transport would be prohibited from traveling on the Karachi-Quetta highway (N-25), also known as the RCD Highway, at night, disconnecting Balochistan from Sindh,” according to Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat.

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In order to prevent travel delays, it was also emphasized that buses and coaches should leave on schedule.

“All buses and coaches will have their trackers and CCTV cameras kept operational, and transporters have been instructed to comply with government directives,” Shafqaat stated.

On March 28, Gwadar DC Hamoodur Rehman said that, until further notice, all nighttime public transportation on the Makran Coastal Highway (N-10) will be prohibited.

It said that the administration and the private transport association had agreed to limit the departure times from Karachi, Gwadar, and Quetta in order to guarantee that the passengers reach their destination before nightfall, with the “passengers’ security” in mind.

All vehicles leaving the port city for the two cities will do so between 6 and 1 pm, while those traveling from Karachi or Quetta to Gwadar would leave between 5 and 10 am.

 Similar instructions were issued by Kachhi DC Jahanzaib Langove, who disconnected the province from Sindh at night by ordering all public and private vehicles to avoid using the Quetta-Sukkur highway (N-65) between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. starting March 28 till further notice.

 The announcement also said that vehicles returning from the provincial capital would be checked at Kolpur and those traveling from Sibi to Quetta during the prohibited hours would be stopped along the Nari River bank in Sibi.

An further directive from Zhob DC Mehboob Ahmad prohibited nighttime movement by public buses and coaches on the N-50 National Highway, which connects Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, through Zhob.

On March 27, the transporters were instructed not to travel between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. until additional directives were given.

Noshki DC Soomro Amjad and DC Musakhel Public transportation is prohibited from using the Quetta-Taftan (N-40) and Multan-Loralai (N-70) highways between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to previous notices issued by Juma Dad Mandokhail.