ISLAMABAD: In protest against the volatile situation in restive Balochistan, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Tuesday resigned as member National Assembly, expressing no confidence in the state, the president and the prime minister.

Speaking at a presser outside Parliament House, the veteran politician said: “I announce my resignation from the National Assembly today. I made this decision after witnessing the situation of Balochistan.”

He regretted that he could not do anything for the people of his province as the situation is going from bad to worse with each passing day, adding the people Balochistan have not been given the right to rule for a year which is the reason for his lack of trust in the whole system.

“The people are not interested in the issues of Balochistan and every time this issue is raised, we face a blackout,” he said, adding “this assembly does not listen to us, what’s the point of sitting here.”

Mengal said that the decision is made by his conscience. He questioned where they would go when the roads to the Parliament are all blocked.

Mengal, who had won the elections from NA-256 (Khuzdar) in February 08, 2024 general elections, said the prevalent situation in Balochistan left him with no option but to call it a day.

“The province [Balochistan] has consistently been marginalised and ignored by this House. Each day, we are pushed further to the wall, leaving us with no choice but to reconsider our roles. The lack of genuine representation in this assembly for the people of Balochistan has left voices like mine unable to bring meaningful change,” said the resignation letter which he submitted to the NA Secretariat.

Mengal said that their attempts to speak or protest are met with hostility. Our people are either silenced, labeled as traitors, or worse, killed. Mengal’s resignation – which is yet to be accepted by NA Speaker – comes amid heightened security tensions in Balochistan after recent deadly attacks and increased protests over past months against enforced disappearances.

In a letter addressed to NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Mengal said the “prevailing situation in Balochistan has compelled me to take this step”. “I find it impossible to continue in this capacity, as my presence here no longer serves any purpose for the people I represent,” he added.

Requesting the NA speaker to accept his resignation, the BNP-M chief expressed the hope for Balochistan to “be protected and prosper”.

Mengal acknowledged that “thousands of voters would be upset with me but I apologise to them.”

He said that the murder of anyone in the country – be it someone who is Urdu-speaking, Pashto or Balochi – was carried out by the judiciary for not providing justice.

“The biggest murderers are politicians who have made a business out of politics,” he maintained.

He said that in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House on July 23, he conveyed that if there was no need for him in politics, he would leave.

“It is better to open a shop of “pakoras” than doing this kind of politics,” Mengal lamented.

“The person who guided me has passed away,” he said. “I did not attend his funeral and have come here instead to talk, yet, no one listened to me.”

Meanwhile, in a post on X, Mengal termed his resignation a “tribute” to his father, BNP founder Sardar Attaullah Mengal.

“On the third death anniversary of my father, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, I resign as a member of Parliament as a tribute to him,” Mengal wrote in a post on X.

He reiterated that the prevailing situation in Balochistan had compelled him to make the decision.

“Under these circumstances, I find it impossible to act any longer in this capacity, because my presence here has not been of any benefit to the people I represent,” the post read.

While Mengal had chosen not to cast a vote in the election for the prime minister this year, he had supported PTI-backed Mahmood Khan Achakzai in the presidential polls in March.

In April, the BNP-M chief had also presided over a meeting of six opposition parties, where they decided to launch their movement Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024