Gen Bajwa facilitated PDM's ouster of Imran: Mengal

BNP-M leader takes aim at former ally, claims retired army chief wished to favour the eventual winner

Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Friday took aim at the PML-N-led government, stating that the government used their coalition—which included his own party—for their interests.

He claimed the establishment played a significant part in forming the coalition government.

Recalling a conversation with then-Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa he had following the no-confidence motion submission, Mengal said the general was diplomatically fence-sitting on the issue.

“He was trying to keep both the PDM and chairman PTI happy so that he could be with whoever wins,” he said in an interview with a private news channel.

He alleged that Gen Bajwa urged both PDM and PTI to maintain peace, seemingly hedging his bets to favour the eventual winner in the power struggle. According to Mengal, the PDM coalition would not have formed had there been no disagreements between Bajwa and Khan.

“He did not want to upset either one of them.”

It is pertinent to note that the BNP-M earlier allied itself with the then-ruling PTI at the centre in 2018 before switching sides to support the opposition PDM with the aim of dismantling Imran Khan's regime in 2022.

Read More: Khokhar accuses Bajwa of aiding Imran's ouster

However, the party has not shied away from expressing disapproval of the coalition’s policies, even threatening to break away on occasions.

Mengal’s remarks come against the backdrop of the upcoming general elections which has witnessed old allies separating paths and political arch-rivals potentially mulling joining hands.

He said that when he met PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif for the coalition of PDM, he urged the then-prime minister to not repeat past mistakes of neglecting Balochistan by leaving it in the hands of the "establishment", now that they shared a common understanding.

“Shehbaz Sharif … wrapped us [BNP-M] up and placed us in their [establishment] pockets,” he regretted.

‘Timing’ of Nawaz’s return

Mengal called into question the return of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, especially considering the timing - close to elections.

He regretted that the nation has always been the unfortunate bystander to decisions made, not by them but by others. He noted the peculiar circumstances of the deposed premier’s return. “Could he not have returned a year earlier?”

Read More: I drew flak while Bajwa called the shots: Imran

He suggested that the timing of the PML-N leader’s return, coinciding with the impending elections, raises a “big question mark”. It would have been appropriate for him to have consulted with his past allies before making such a decision, he added.

‘Self-serving NAB tweaks’

The BNP-M leader went on to allege that the PDM government introduced the controversial NAB amendments to align their own affairs, even passing 56 bills in a single day on the assembly floor.

Yet, he complained, not a single one of his party’s bills saw the light of day.

He admitted that in future, he would think not twice, but a hundred times before forming a coalition with PML-N, PPP, or PTI, adding that the larger parties seemed to dismiss the BNP-M once their political objectives were achieved.

“For the sake of [our] votes they call us back and when the job is done, they want to be rid of us,” he said.

During the formation of the PDM government, issues relating to missing persons were raised but no conclusive actions followed, leading to the BNP-M members' resignation from the cabinet.

"We were invited to discuss after two of our ministers resigned," he disclosed.