Ahead of the presidential polls in Pakistan, authorities in Balochistan have raided the house of opposition presidential candidate and veteran politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai in the provincial capital, Quetta, and reclaimed a piece of government-owned land “illegally occupied” by him. Achakzai, 75, from Balochistan, is the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief and was nominated by Imran Khan, the jailed leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to contest against former president Asif Ali Zardari.

Authorities in Quetta said they had conducted the raid at Achakzai’s residence on Sunday and reclaimed a piece of government-owned land “illegally occupied” by him.

In Parliament, Achakzai would be supported by the Sunni Ittehad Council, the new home of the PTI-backed independent lawmakers.

The veteran politician will contest the March 9 presidential candidate against 68-year-old senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader Zardari whose name has been floated by the coalition government headed by Shahbaz Sharif.

Political and civil rights activists as well as the media have strongly condemned the raid, terming it a reaction by the state institutions to Achakzai’s recent speech in the National Assembly when Shehbaz was elected as the prime minister.

Quetta Deputy Commissioner Saad Asad said the raid was planned as the PkMAP President had illegally occupied at his residence a piece of land measuring 2.5 kanals (0.3 acres) which belonged to the government.

“He had encircled the land with boundary walls and despite repeated warnings, he refused to vacate it,” Asad said.