QUETTA — The Balochistan Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a joint resolution urging the Sindh government to halt the alleged harassment of traders and residents from Pishin, Chaman, Khanozai, Zhob, Muslim Bagh, Loralai and Quetta who frequently travel to Karachi and other parts of Sindh for business.
The resolution — moved by JUI-F lawmaker Asghar Tareen — drew support from both treasury and opposition benches, with members expressing deep concern over reports of arrests, raids and confiscation of legally purchased goods belonging to traders from Balochistan. Lawmakers warned that such actions were fuelling economic hardship and threatening interprovincial harmony.
Mr Tareen alleged that Sindh police and local land mafia elements had been “unnecessarily harassing” Pashtun businessmen in Karachi to pressure them into shutting down their establishments. Claiming that nearly 90 per cent of Karachi’s tea and food hotels were run by Pashtuns from Balochistan, he said many traders had been detained without FIRs, while their lawful merchandise was falsely declared smuggled.
He pressed the provincial government to immediately engage the Sindh administration and demanded the formation of a joint committee comprising members from both sides of the aisle.
The treasury and opposition benches expressed their serious concern over the situation and called for immediate engagement with the Sindh government to ensure the protection of all the people of Balochistan.https://t.co/fDak6w0x4E
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 18, 2025
Senior minister and PPP parliamentary leader Mir Sadiq Umrani maintained that the party did not discriminate in employment opportunities and insisted that recent actions in Karachi were part of federal crackdowns on illegal businesses and undocumented Afghan migrants. He assured the House that the Sindh government would be approached.
Agriculture Minister Mir Ali Hassan Zehri echoed this, saying the operations were federally mandated and not initiated by the Sindh government alone. He expressed willingness to take up the matter with President Asif Ali Zardari.
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ANP’s Zmarak Khan Achakzai said harassment of Pashtuns in Karachi had persisted since the 1980s, alleging that businesses were being forcibly closed. JI’s Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch urged that the resolution be broadened to include all Balochistan residents, noting that Baloch traders and labourers also faced humiliation. Several lawmakers — including NP’s Khair Jan Baloch, BAP’s Prince Agha Umar Ahmedzai, and PML-N’s Zarak Khan Mandokhail — supported transforming the resolution into a joint one and forming a committee under the Speaker’s supervision.
Concluding the debate, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti endorsed the proposal and agreed to constitute a committee to engage the Sindh authorities, promising to raise the issue at the appropriate political and administrative forums.
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