BALOCHISTAN CLOSED BUT QUIET IN FOLLOW-ON PROTEST;

UNCLAS E F T O ISLAMABAD 017875 SIPDIS NOFORN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2016 TAGS: PK PREL PGOV KTER SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN CLOSED BUT QUIET IN FOLLOW-ON PROTEST; POLITICAL ARENA STILL AGITATED REF: A) ISLAMABAD 16944 B) ISLAMABAD 17014 C) ISLAMABAD 17255 D) ISLAMABAD 17594 ¶1. (U) On September 6, Balochistan was again shut down by a general "wheel jam and shutter down" strike to protest the death and burial of Nawab Bugti at the hands of the government (reftels). As with the September 1 and 3 strikes, the province-wide shutdown was generally peaceful and extended into interior Sindh province as well. Most roads in Balochistan were closed, as was the Makran coastal highway between Gwadar and Karachi and the border crossing into Afghanistan at Chaman (near Quetta). ¶2. (U) The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) and the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) had joined with other opposition parties in calling for the strike and continued protests against government actions in the province. To underline this point, Rauf Mengal, the lone member of the Baloch National Party (BNP-Mengal)in the National Assembly, resigned. In his resignation speech he said the death of Bugti "has increased the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan and I am convinced that there is no reason left to continue as a member of the House." Mengal's resignation was procedurally correct and in all likelihood final. As he sat with the opposition, the resignation will have no effect on the government's majority in the Assembly. ¶3. (SBU) Sanaullah Baloch Zehri, the sole federal senator from BNP-Mengal, is currently living in semi-exile in England. (NOTE: Where he fled amid rumors that he was about to be arrested by federal agencies. END NOTE) Also in protest, and in apparent support of his party leader, Sanaullah faxed his resignation. In an unorthodox move, he sent it to Mengal rather than to Senate Chairman Soomro, as required by Senate procedures. This approach may well void his attempted "resignation." Other members of the opposition are unlikely to play the resignation card, despite well-publicized posturing. ¶4. (U) Consulate Karachi contributed to the drafting of this cable. CROCKER