Partial shutdown in Balochistan, lukewarm response in other provinces to Opposition's protest in Pakistan

Partial shutdown in Balochistan highlights mixed responses to opposition protests across Pakistan against alleged election rigging.

Balochistan witnessed partial standstill on Sunday (February 8, 2026) while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces threw a mixed response to a protest call by Pakistan's opposition to mark the anniversary of what they called “a rigged February 8, 2024 general election.” The complete shutter down and traffic strike call was given by Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain Pakistan (TTAP), a united front of all opposition political parties, including incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

After the February 8, 2024 general election, Mr. Khan had called the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as 'mandate thieves' alleging that they rigged the polls to steal his party's seats by manipulating results to come to power.

Cycles of revolt: On Pakistan and the Baloch rebels

The TTAP leaders echoed the sentiment as they called for a nation-wide shutter down and traffic strike on Sunday (February 8, 2026).

Normal life was disrupted in Balochistan capital Quetta and other parts of the province and public transport remained off the road with all markets closed, according to Hafiz Ziaullah, senior member of Jamiat Ulema Fazlur Rahman group, Balochistan chapter.

The government had ordered heavy police and frontier corp deployment as supporters of various component parties of the TTAP movement staged demonstrations at multiple locations, blocking highways and main roads leading into and out of Quetta.