Mengal quits NA over Balochistan situation

Veteran politician says nobody in the house is interested in province's issues

ISLAMABAD:

Sardar Akhtar Mengal, a senior politician and leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), resigned from his National Assembly seat on Tuesday over the ongoing situation in Balochistan, complaining that the voices from the beleaguered province were not being heard by the house.

Mengal, the member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-256 Khuzdar, made the announcement during his press talk at the Parliament House. He told reporters that the current situation in Balochistan had compelled him to take this step.

"We have been ignored by this House [because] the people are not interested in the issues of Balochistan. If this assembly does not listen to our voice, there is no point in sitting in it. We have no choice but to rethink our role," Mengal said.

After the media talk, Mengal went to the chamber of the speaker to submit his resignation. However, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq was not present in his chamber at the time. Later, Mengal submitted his resignation to the National Assembly secretary.

In his resignation letter, Mengal said that the current situation in Balochistan had forced him to take this step. "We are pushed against the wall. Our people are either silenced, or branded as traitors," he said. "In such circumstances it is impossible to continue working in this capacity."

Furthermore, Mengal said, his presence in the National Assembly no longer served the people he represented. "Therefore, I request you [the National Assembly speaker] to accept my resignation. May Balochistan be blessed with development and prosperity."

The resignation of the veteran politician came in the wake of a worsening law and order situation in Balochistan, where dozens of people, including civilians and security personnel, were martyred in a series of attacks late last month.

In a post on microblogging website X, Mengal termed his resignation a "tribute" to his late father, BNP founder Sardar Attaullah Mengal. "On the third death anniversary of my father, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, I resign as a member of Parliament as a tribute to him."

During his six-month stint in the National Assembly, Mengal did not vote for the election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He supported opposition candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai in the presidential election in March.

In April, Mengal had chaired a meeting of the opposition parties, which formed a six-party alliance to launch the movement Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP). Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai was made the president of the new alliance.

Meanwhile, Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the resignation of veteran Baloch politician from the National Assembly was worrisome, and stressed that there should be discussion on this issue.

In a post on X, Rafique said that in these present circumstances, politicians like Dr Malik Baloch, Lashkari Raisani, Akhtar Mengal, Abdul Ghafoor Haidari and Maulana Hidayatur Rehman should be taken as a blessing and their strong words should be listened to seriously.

He stated that the issue of Balochistan could not be resolved through the use of force alone, or mere negotiations or by even by favourite political players. "My heart-felt appeal is that the ruling coalition and the state institutions join hands to find a sustainable solution for Balochistan," he added.

"We have to think why yesterday's allies have gathered in the opposing camp today. Foreign Powers are actively working to prevent the completion of CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor], but there seems to be a lack of a workable strategy," he said.

Rafique said that the dream of breaking Pakistan would never be fulfilled, but "the ongoing dirty game might devour" a lot. "The wound of Balochistan has become canker. The poison of hatred is spreading, its antidote must be found."