Why did the bus owner set fire to his bus worth Rs 1.5 crore in Balochistan?
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Why did the bus owner set fire to his bus worth Rs 1.5 crore in Balochistan? |
A transporter set fire to his expensive bus at a Coast Guard check post in the Vander area of Lasbela district in Balochistan on Sunday, and a video of the incident went viral on social media.
Speaking to the BBC, bus owner Haji Dad Mohammad Achakzai said: "Someone is crazy to set fire to his own bus worth Rs 1.5 crore, but I did it because I am compelled."
They not only set fire to their bus at the Coast Guard check post but also did not allow anyone to put out the fire which completely destroyed the bus.
He accused the check post staff of "not only harassing the transporters but also the passengers at the check post.
After the burning of the bus, the transporters had blocked the Quetta-Karachi highway in protest, but after holding talks with Deputy Commissioner Lasbela, they ended their protest.
Although no formal statement was made by Coast Guard officials, a force official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC the transporter's allegations were baseless. Another official said a press release would be issued in this regard.
Just burning video viral
If something accidentally catches fire or someone gets emotional and sets something on fire, then people try to put out the fire with their help.
But in the video that went viral about the burning of the bus at the Coast Guard check post, the bus does not seem to have any such effort.
There are reports that firefighters arrived at the scene to put out the blaze, but protesters did not allow them to do so.
The video shows flames and smoke rising from the Mahmood bus.
Among the people near the bus is a man with an iron rod in his hand, saying in Pashto that he did it under duress.
The man, who owns the bus, Dad Mohammad Achakzai, is also claiming in his conversation that "Coast Guard people demand Rs 1.5 lakh from him". At the same time, he is asking other people to make a video of the burning bus.
He is also saying that the Coast Guard works at sea and on the coast but they have set up their own check post on the road.
Transporters protest after bus burning incident
After the bus burning incident, the transporters stopped their buses on the Quetta-Karachi highway to express solidarity with Haji Dad Mohammad, the owner of Al-Mahmood Company.
Due to the protests of the transporters, the traffic on this important highway remained closed for several hours, due to which the passengers and other passengers were severely disturbed.
Deputy Commissioner Lasbela has held talks with the transporters and ended their protest.
When contacted by phone, Deputy Commissioner Lasbela Iftikhar Bugti said that he had told the transporters that their problems would be resolved by holding talks with the Coast Guard officials.
What does the bus owner say?
Haji Dad Mohammad Achakzai said that his bus was of 2016 model and its price was Rs. 1.5 crore.
He said he was fed up with the behavior of the Coast Guard, which caused him to burn his precious bus because, according to him, he had no choice but to do so.
"These people object to people traveling in buses," he said. Sometimes they say these passengers are Afghans and sometimes they say they are Uzbeks, don't pick them up.
He alleged that the buses going to Karachi were stopped at this check post for one and half to two hours in the name of search, which caused severe inconvenience and difficulties to the passengers, especially women and children. Is.
Haji Dad Mohammad Achakzai claimed that the number of passengers in buses has decreased due to which transporters are suffering.
He alleged that "if transporters take a few pieces of clothing or something like that to avoid damage, they demand money from them.
He said that they do not carry any prohibited and illegal items in the buses and they carry the items which are available in the markets of Pakistan.
'Drivers or transporters who carry a few things in these vehicles. If these people consider them as smuggling goods, they should be stopped at the border so that they cannot enter the country.
Haji Dad Mohammad said that now in the world of compulsion he had set fire to one of his buses and if the harassment of transporters and passengers continued then he would also burn his other buses.
Waiting for the Coast Guard position
The Coast Guard has not officially commented on the incident.
When contacted by phone at the Coast Guard headquarters in Karachi regarding the transporter's allegations, Major Shahbaz, an officer of the force, said that a press release would be issued by the force in this regard.
But no press release was issued till the report was published. Attempts were made to contact Coast Guard KP Muhammad Sarfraz on his mobile phone but he did not receive the call and sent a message on WhatsApp that he was on leave. Are
Although no formal statement was made by Coast Guard officials, a force official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the transporter's allegations as baseless.
He termed the burning of the bus as a deliberate conspiracy by the transporter to discredit the force and said that the duties assigned to the force by the government were being carried out.
He claimed that apart from being smuggled goods, the same passenger buses also contained drugs and smuggled goods and drugs were also being recovered from them.
The official said that some people want them not to be questioned and to do whatever they want which is not possible as the law does not allow any illegal activities.
800 check posts in Balochistan
Due to poor law and order situation in Balochistan, a large number of check posts have been set up on highways.
There are more complaints from people about these check posts.
One of the demands of the recent protest organized by Haq Do Tehreek in the coastal district of Gwadar in Balochistan was the removal of unnecessary check posts.
In view of these complaints, Mir Abdul Qaddos Bizenjo, in his first address to the assembly session after being elected Chief Minister of Balochistan for the second time, announced the elimination of unnecessary check posts from all over Balochistan.
When asked about the implementation of the announcement of abolition of check posts, Balochistan Home Affairs Adviser Mir Ziaullah Lango said that there were more than 800 such check posts in Balochistan in total.
To a question, he said that a large number of check posts of Levies, Police and FC have been abolished but in view of the situation in Balochistan, it is necessary to have check posts at some places so that prohibited and illegal items The transportation of can be stopped.
He said that a strategy was being formulated in future to reduce the number of check posts on highways in each district to a minimum and to have joint check posts of all forces so that personnel of all forces could carry out joint search.
He said that this check post of Coast Guard in Lasbela would also be reviewed and it would be seen how the legitimate complaints of the people regarding it could be reduced.
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