After months of limbo, speaker approves Mengal's resignation

BNP chief says he stands by his decision

ISLAMABAD:

After months of political limbo, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has formally approved the resignation of BNP-Mengal chief Akhtar Mengal, who quit parliament in September 2024, citing a worsening situation in Balochistan which he described as "systematic marginalisation".

The Speaker's Office confirmed the acceptance on Wednesday and said the Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) had been informed, formally vacating Mengal's seat from NA-256 Khuzdar, which he won in the 2024 general elections.

Reacting sharply on X, Mengal accused the ruling party of deliberately delaying the decision. "N League[the PML-N] has at last accepted my resignation after dragging its feet long enough to expose its own fear," he wrote.

In a separate post, Mengal took a jibe at the government calling it "Form 47 team". The term is used by the opposition parties, who alleged that the election results announced on official 'Form 47' did not reflect the actual polls.

Mengal said that his resignation was submitted on September 3, 2024, "by choice and with full conviction", adding that: "I acknowledge the Form47 team particularly Ayaz Sadiq for formally accepting it."

In his posts Mengal sought to clarify that he had not withdrawn any parliamentary funds and that he had vacated the official lodges 17 months ago. He repeated in his posts that he stood by his decision.