Wadh clashes worry lawmakers in NA

Minister says Akhtar Mengal’s residence being attacked with mortar shells

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly on Friday was informed that BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal’s residence was being attacked with mortar shells in Balochistan’s Wadh area while the law enforcement agencies had been taken hostage by terrorists.

Speaking in the House, Federal Science and Technology Minister Agha Hasan Baloch pointed out that Mengal was an MNA.

“Are countries governed in this manner?” he raised the question.

The minister warned that there could be dire consequences of what was happening in Wadh.

He called for taking urgent notice of the situation in Wadh, adding that Mengal was being besieged in a manner similar to the fate of Balochistan’s leader Akbar Bugti.

“Why are we being given the impression that the BNP-M had made a mistake by siding with the ruling coalition?” Baloch asked.

Tension and panic prevailed in the Wadh tehsil of the Khuzdar district of Balochistan in the wake of clashes between two armed groups.

“Both sides have used heavy weapons against each other in Wadh and surrounding villages,” an official of the district administration said requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

There were no confirmed reports of casualties as a result of armed clashes in the area.

The clashes that started on Wednesday have terrorised the locals, who have been confined to their homes.

One of the parties in the conflict, Shafiq Mengal, has a dubious past.

While his father Naseer Mengal was a former federal minister, Shafiq was allegedly involved in the formation of the Difa-e-Balochistan outfit, accused of abducting and killing Baloch nationalists.

He has also been linked with banned outfits that carried out sectarian killings in Balochistan, especially against the ethnic Hazara community.

However, he has constantly denied these allegations.

In Islamabad, Mengal informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the situation in Wadh and demanded stern action against the terrorist groups operating in Khuzdar.

The NA speaker said he expected the government to take immediate steps to control the situation in Wadh.

PPP MNA Ghulam Mustafa Shah lashed out at his own government.

Speaking on a point of order, the PPP lawmaker said he had many reservations about the present government.

He told the House that he wanted to discuss an important issue related to the budget of the sports ministry.

However he added that after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s assurance, he was not raising the issue.

“If our reservations are not addressed, we will walk out from here and take strict action,” he warned.

The PPP MNA further said if the PML-N did not fulfill its promises, his party would no longer support it.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique pointed out that the tenures of military dictators were part of the country’s painful history.

He added that the country’s institutions were “drowning” because of “dirty” politics.

He categorically made it clear that the State would not succumb to the pressure exerted by certain individuals.

Later, the Pakistan Nursing Council Amendment Bill, 2023 was approved unanimously, after which the speaker adjourned the meeting till 5pm on Monday.