Mengal faces charges following Quetta protest

BNP leader denounces provincial caretaker government as an 'undertaker'

QUETTA:

On Monday, BNP chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal referred to the provincial caretaker government as an "undertaker" after they filed cases against him and his party leaders for organizing "peaceful protests" against alleged "death squads" in the province.

Mengal expressed his discontent, saying, "It is not a caretaker government but, as I said earlier, an undertaker government. Another name for martial law." This statement came in a tweet on X.

"Yesterday, BNP held peaceful protests all over Balochistan against an operation being planned to eliminate me and my party. The undertakers of the Balochistan government have filed an FIR against my party members for peacefully protesting against death squads. Where do I go for justice?" he added.

The politician, who was part of the last PML-N-led coalition government, also shared an image of the FIR (First Information Report) registered at Quetta's Civil Lines Police Station on October 15 against him and other BNP leaders who participated in the protest.

According to the FIR, the protesters were charged under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including Section 147 (punishment for rioting), Section 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed in the prosecution of a common object), Section 186 (obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions), Section 188 (disobedience to orders duly promulgated by a public servant), and Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint).

BNP Central Executive Committee member Ghulam Nabi Marri, former MPAs Shakeela Naveed Dawar, and Shumaila Ismail were also named in the FIR for delivering provocative speeches against the caretaker government and accusing it of sponsoring death squads.

The former chief minister also shared a statement by the party, condemning the registration of a case against women and children, in disregard of the traditions and customs of the Baloch people and Balochistan.