Election 2013: Threats won’t deter us, says Mengal

Says his party can enter into electoral alliances with likeminded Baloch nationalist parties.

KARACHI:

Spelling out his six points for stabilising the situation in Balochistan, Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Akhter Mengal reiterated on Wednesday that his party would contest the upcoming elections.

Sardar Akhter Mengal – who heads his eponymous faction of Balochistan National Party – arrived in Karachi from Dubai on Monday and told journalists on Tuesday that his party would not boycott the elections.

Addressing a news conference at his residence in Karachi, he said that a comprehensive economic and social package could help stabilise the province, where Baloch insurgents have been a separatist insurgency since 2004.

On the occasion, a seasoned politician from Balochistan, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, also joined hands with Mengal. Shah, who was affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party, blamed the party of ignoring the festering issue of Balochistan.

“I raised the issue of Balochistan – but all my cries fell on deaf ears,” Shah said, adding that he has joined hands with Mengal because his party was struggling for the rights of the people of Balochistan. Mengal reiterated the six-point formula he had presented before the Supreme Court. “Elections will be meaningless, if my six points are not taken seriously,” he added.

Mengal said his party would take part in polls despite threats. “We are not afraid of anything but there is threat from the establishment,” he added.

“As of now we don’t have any plans to forge an electoral alliance with any other party,” the BNP chief said. However, he did not rule out an alliance with other likeminded Baloch nationalist parties. “We’ll not join hands with those parties which could ignore our demands,” he added.

Commenting on former military ruler Pervez Musharaf, the BNP chief said that people knew him when he had uniform. “No one knows him now,” he added. He also blamed Musharaf for introducing controversial laws like National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2013.