Pakistan: 4 provincial lawmakers hurt in clashes with police outside Balochistan Assembly

At least four Pakistani provincial lawmakers were injured on Friday in clashes with the police outside the Balochistan Assembly building, delaying the unveiling of the Budget as Opposition leaders alleged neglect to their constituencies.

The assembly was scheduled to meet at 4pm to let the provincial Balochistan government of Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan to present the budget of 2021-22, but the lawmakers couldn't enter the building as all entry points were blocked by Opposition leaders, belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (Pk-MAP) and some independent candidates.

They protested the alleged neglect of their constituencies in the budget and vowed to stop the government from presenting its fiscal plan. The agitations have been going on sporadically across the province for the last four days over.

Chaos ensued as the police was called upon. The security personnel used force to disperse the protestors, clearing the way to the Assembly Building. At least four lawmakers were injured, identified as Shakeela Dahwar, Ahmad Nawaz, Babu Raheem and Wahid Siddiqui.

Police used its armoured personnel carrier to force open a gate which was locked from inside. A video on the internet purportedly showed CM Khan being escorted to the Assembly Hall and a shoe being hurled at him.

Opposition lawmaker Sanaullah Baloch told the media that the provincial government used brute force against the Opposition lawmakers and they were planning to register an FIR against the police action.

Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said that no constituency had been ignored in the Budget proposals and the opposition was only trying to sabotage the Budget Session.

Finally, Provincial Finance Minister Zahoor Ahmed Buledi presented the budget with a total outlay of Rs 584.083 billion, out of which Rs 237 billion has been allocated for development works.

Meanwhile, the chaos at the Assembly led to traffic mayhem in the city and the outer ring roads and the transit points with Afghanistan.

The violence in the Balochistan Assembly comes days after a similar incident in the national capital.

On Tuesday, lawmakers from the treasury and Opposition in the National Assembly in Islamabad hurled abuses and threw copies of the official Budget documents at each other, injuring one of the female members.

A video clip of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Awan shouting expletives at the Opposition went viral on social media.

The incident drew wide spread criticism on social media. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday barred seven lawmakers, including three from the ruling party, from entering the House in view of the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)