ECP verifying papers, Baloch verifying dead bodies: Mengal

Steps taken by ECP to ensure free and fair elections not helpful in Balochistan, says BNP chief.

QUETTA: Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, while talking to media in Quetta, said that steps taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure free and fair elections would not be helpful in Balochistan until killings in the province are stopped.

“While the ECP is busy in verification and scrutinising of nomination papers all over Pakistan, some areas of Balochistan are still no-go areas, and Baloch people are busy in verifying the bodies of their families,” he said.

Talking about the current situation of the province, he said, “People are still being abducted and killed in different areas of Balochistan.”

Mengal, a former chief minister and president of the BNP, had returned to Pakistan from Dubai on March 25.

Following his return, he decided to contest the upcoming elections on March 26.

The ECP has made multiple overtures to convince Baloch leaders to take part in the elections. More recently, while visiting Quetta, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani emphasised the need for participation by all political parties in the elections.