BNP-Mengal holds long march on Wadh situation

QUETTA: The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) staged a long march on Sunday to protest against the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Wadh, a town in the Khuzdar district.

The long march, which began from Khuzdar city towards Quetta, was joined by thousands of party supporters and sympathizers from various parts of Balochistan, including Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur and Hub.

The long march kicked off from Khuzdar at approximately 7 am on Sunday, featuring a procession of buses, trucks, and various other vehicles.

The protesters chanted slogans against the provincial and federal governments, accusing them of failing to protect the lives and properties of the people of Wadh and other areas of Balochistan.

Wadh has been the scene of violent clashes between two rival factions of the Mengal tribe for several months, resulting in dozens of casualties and displacements.

The BNP-M chief, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who led the long march, said that his party was demanding an end to the bloodshed in Wadh and the restoration of peace and order in the town.

The caretaker home minister of Balochistan, Zubair Jamali, had urged the BNP-M to cancel its long march and offered to resolve the tribal conflict through dialogue.

However, Akhtar Mengal rejected the offer and said that his party would not call off its protest until its demands were met.

The Balochistan government also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bans public gatherings of more than four people, in Quetta and Kech districts to prevent any untoward incident during the long march.

However, the BNP-M defied the ban and continued its march amid tight security arrangements. No major incident of violence was reported during the march.