Akhtar Mengal to return to Pakistan amid political turmoil

Sardar Akhtar Mengal, leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), has decided to return to Pakistan in light of the country's current political situation, The Express Tribune learnt on Thursday.

According to sources, Mengal, who had resigned from the National Assembly in protest and left the country ahead of the constitutional amendments, is now planning to return due to the evolving political landscape.

He is expected to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow morning from Dubai and will announce his next steps after consultations.

Two days ago, Mengal claimed on social media that two of his party’s senators were being harassed for not supporting the constitutional amendments. "In such a situation, our only option may be to ask both senators to resign," he stated.

A day before, Islamabad police had visited Mengal’s apartment in the Parliament Lodges. BNP’s acting president, Sajid Tareen, alleged that the police raided the flat, though Mengal was not present. The police, however, claimed they acted based on intelligence reports regarding the occupants of the apartment.

Tareen condemned the raid, asserting that such actions would not intimidate the BNP into supporting the government. He maintained that the party’s senators would not yield to pressure during the judicial reforms voting.