Akhtar Mengal quits National Assembly seat

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal has announced his decision to resign from the National Assembly.

Announcing his decision before the media he said no one is willing to listen to us and are not interested in the problems of Balochistan.

He submitted his resignation to the assembly secretary due to the absence of the National Assembly speaker from his chamber

Mengal said, “I had decided to raise the problems of Balochistan in the assembly today,” Mengal said. However, he lamented that “people are not interested in the issue of Balochistan”.

In a stern remark, Mengal stated, “A parliamentarian himself said that Balochistan is slipping out of our hands,” but he went further, declaring, “Balochistan is not getting out of your hands, but it has already gotten out.”

Mengal criticized the government’s failure to address the bloodshed in Balochistan and called for unity among political leaders to tackle the province’s problems. “Everyone should come together on this issue and a meeting should have been called to discuss it,” he asserted.

Mengal also expressed frustration that discussions about Balochistan are often “blacked out” when raised in the assembly, adding, “Whenever you start talking about this issue, it is blacked out.”

He challenged his critics, saying, “If you disagree with my words, then listen to my words with patience. If I’m still wrong, I accept any punishment. Eliminate me in an encounter outside parliament or kill me, but at least listen to me.”

The BNP chief further remarked that blood was spilled in Balochistan and the politicians who took an NRO were responsible. Reflecting on his political journey, Mengal spoke about a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House in 2023, where concerns were raised about the youth of Balochistan.

He recalled, “In the meeting, I said if our youth switch to other parties or go towards militancy, don’t complain.”

In his emotional address, Mengal said he did not even take his party into confidence about quitting from the National Assembly. He also said he had no faith in any institution of the state, and ended with a poignant metaphor, “I sell mirrors, in the city of the blind.”

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