Sardar Mengal addressing a press conference on Monday. PHOTO: APP
Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal has claimed that operations have been intensified in Balochistan to suppress the voice of Baloch people clamouring for their rights.
Addressing a news conference here on Monday, Mengal described the action as ‘genocide’ of Baloch people.
Meanwhile, he announced dissolving of all party organs, saying all previous party memberships stood cancelled.
He directed to launch a fresh membership drive to revitalise the party, following recommendations of BNP-M’s central committee.
Mengal indicated that elements responsible for enforced disappearances were responsible for the grenade attack at his residence earlier and blamed state institutions for human rights violations in Balochistan.
The BNP-M president said that there had been some hope following the general elections, but that hope was fading with every passing day as forces had intensified military operations under the cover of search operations in major parts of Balochistan.
“Operations have been intensified to stop Baloch people from seeking their legitimate national rights,” Mengal said. He described the action as ‘genocide’ of the Baloch people.
The former Balochistan chief minister reiterated his earlier stance that he wanted to take Balochistan out of death and destruction, and seek an end to enforced disappearances and dumping of mutilated bodies at public places.
“We decided to participate in the democratic process and field our candidates in a difficult situation,” Mengal said, but expressed reservations over the election results, stating that election results had been tampered with and changed, converting victory of the party into defeat.
“If we were in the parliament, we would have definitely opposed all mega projects – Reko Dik, Saindak, Dudar, Gwadar Port, Chamallang and Gadani Power Park,” he said, adding that the power park should have been established in Ormara and Awaran instead of Gadani. He added that the electricity from HUBCO and Uch Power Projects had been denied to the people of Balochistan.
He also demanded immediate and involuntary repatriation of all Afghan refugees and illegal immigrants and called for punishing all those officials who had issued national identity cards and travel documents in exchange of bribes.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal also condemned the removal of Baloch vice chancellors and appointment of non-Baloch vice chancellors in universities in the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (4)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Baloch: well then such people pashtuns and baloch both should be exposed/named! But please leave the univeristies these positions should not even be based on ethnicity; not at all. Our youth deserve and need good high quality education managed by highly competent people if competence and seniority is the criteria then I will have no issues then with these politicians but crying foul only coz a VC is not a pashtun or not a baloch has always sounded very silly to me. What baloch youth need is good instituions not a baloch VC what pashtun youth need is a good instituion not a pashtun VC.
i am a pakistani ,then a punjabi i am concerned about killing and abduction of my fellow balochi brothers. but what is the reason for which innocent labourers returning for eid hollidays are kidnapped,then killed in front of others. is this all about which baloch nationalists talk? is this impowerment of balochs? what is this? please answer somebody ?
@salma: I respect your comments,but the problem is that no Pashtun majority including others living in Balochistan had joined hands with Baloch for their rights. Instead they had been the obstacle for the rights.In fact, This may be one the reasons that Balochistan is burning today. If our Pashtun brothers believe the existance of Baloch-Pashtun province,then they should play their role collectively.Appointing VCs makes no sense as most of the senior calibres are Pashtun in the government and outside as well.Therefore,sanity should prevail rather than unjustifiable remarks...
why should Balochistan not have a pashtun vice chancellor after decades of having Baloch VCs? it's a baloch pashtun province. AM is strangely opposed to pashtun rights!! If u can't give rights to others how do u talk of your own rights - against the basic principles isn't it? I am sorry to say these are double standards. The pro independence leaders have a better approach!