GWADAR: Several thousand protesters brought Gwadar to a standstill on Monday, igniting clashes in which a soldier and a demonstrator were killed, authorities said.

Military said one soldier was killed and 16 wounded on Monday as a result of the “unlawful violent march”.

A government official in Gwadar told AFP on condition of anonymity that attempts by people to bypass roadblocks and join the protest led to clashes.

“One civilian protester, a shopkeeper in Gwadar, was killed in the clash,” the official said, adding that the man was killed on Sunday.

Authorities have imposed a communication blackout in parts of Balochistan and blocked roads to prevent people from joining the demonstrations.

“Our democratic right is not being given to us by the government,” one of the protest organisers, Beberg Baloch, a leader of the rights group Baloch Yakjeti Committee (BYC), told AFP.

The government says the protesters do not have permission to congregate in the city, where the port has been targeted multiple times by Baloch nationalist militants.

BYC organisers said one person was killed in the port city, and two others were killed at another protest site.

Amnesty International expressed alarm at the “unlawful and unnecessary” use of force by security forces.

Balochistan’s government said that more than 20 people had been arrested in Gwadar but did not comment on reported deaths or injuries.—AFP