BNP-M refuses to end Mastung sit-in

Rahila Durrani says delegation had met Akhtar Mengal but failed to convince him

QUETTA:

Balochistan Provincial Minister Rahila Durrani has said that Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal had refused to end the protest sit-in until all his demands were accepted.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, she said that they, as women parliamentarians, had gone to persuade Mengal to end the protest in view of the public's hardships due to road closures.

Durrani further stated that a delegation had been sent to hold talks with Sardar Akhtar Mengal, but the first question he had asked was, "Who has sent you?" She said they had told him that some of his demands were already under judicial consideration and were being dealt with in courts.

It may be mentioned here that the BNP-Mengal chief has been staging a sit-in at the Lak Pass area of Mastung for over two weeks, demanding the release of Baloch Yekjehti Committee leader Dr Mahrang Baloch and other female members.

He has warned that the protest would continue until the women detainees were freed.

Parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Salim Khoso and other ministers from the party have also attempted to engage with Mengal and convince him to end the protest. However, Mengal has remained firm in his stance.

Last month, a suicide blast had occurred near the BNP-Mengal sit-in at Lak Pass. Fortunately, however, there had been no casualties in the attack.

Speaking to the media after that attack, Mengal had said such acts would not weaken the protesters' resolve and vowed to continue the protest.

He had also stated that, if given a clear path, the sit-in could be shifted to Quetta.

On Friday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had stepped forward to mediate the ongoing political crisis in Balochistan with its central leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti in Quetta.

The meeting had taken place against the backdrop of the BNP-M's ongoing protest and growing concerns over the province's law and order situation.

The JUI-F delegation had included provincial chief Senator Maulana Abdul Wasay, Leader of the Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Younas Aziz Zehri and other senior leaders. They had expressed deep concern over the political stand-off and offered to act as mediators to help resolve tensions through constructive dialogue.