Opposition walks out from Balochistan Assembly over FIR against Mengal

QUETTA: Members of opposition parties staged a walkout from the Balochistan Assembly session on Friday to protest the registration of an FIR against Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other party leaders under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the arrest of senior party leaders in Islamabad.

BNPM’s sole Balochistan Assembly member Jahanzeb Mengal raised a point of order immediately after the session began under the chairmanship of Khair Jan Baloch, a member of the Panel of Chairmen. He informed the assembly that the Islamabad police had filed a “false” case under the Anti-Terrorism Act, with additional charges against Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other party leaders, including Akhtar Hussain Langove and Shafi Mengal.

Mengal expressed concern over the treatment of Akhtar Langove and others, who were produced before a local court in handcuffs. “I am a member of this assembly, yet an FIR was registered against him,” he stated, warning that such actions would exacerbate tensions in the province rather than resolve them.

JUIF MPA Mir Zabit Reki also opposed the FIR against the BNP-Mengal leaders, demanding its immediate withdrawal and the release of those detained. Rehmat Saleh Baloch, MPA from the National Party, similarly condemned the police action, asserting that such actions were indefensible.

Engineer Zamrak Khan Achakzai of the ANP, a coalition government ally, criticised the federal government’s approach, arguing that Sardar Akhtar Mengal is a respected politician and that registering an FIR against him was provocative. He called on the chief minister of Balochistan to press the federal government to withdraw the case.

Maulana Hidayat-Ur-Rehman Baloch, chief of the Haq Du Tehreek (HDT) and amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Balochistan, condemned the federal government’s actions, demanding the cases be dropped and that Akhtar Langove and others be released without delay.

Kalsoom Niaz of the National Party voiced concern that actions like this suppress Balochistan’s struggle for rights. Following these speeches, opposition members exited the assembly in protest. The opposition also protested at the speaker’s desk against the closure of the Iran border for trade.

Rehmat Saleh Baloch, Zabit Reki, and Maulana Hidayat-Ur-Rehman Baloch raised the issue, saying that the decision by the apex committee deprived around four million residents of their livelihood in border areas.

They criticised the federal government for failing to provide alternative income sources following the ban on petrol and diesel imports from Iran. “This reflects the anti-people stance of the federal government toward the people of Makran and other border areas,” they asserted, pledging to mobilise public support to reverse the decision on the Iran border closure for oil trade.

Meanwhile, Former Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, condemning the registration of a FIR under the Anti-Terrorist Act against Akhtar Mengal, said the Senate Secretariat had no business to have a false case registered as it is not the work of Parliament to indulge in lodging criminal cases against its members.

In a statement on Friday, he said, “It also sends a very bad message to Balochistan, where there is political instability and acts of terrorism are taking place. He said the residence of Akhtar Mengal was earlier raided and called for national political dialogue, saying that it was the need of the hour. Rabbani said the government should build political harmony and heal the wounds. “The political polarization is harmful for the democratic process,” he said.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (JUIF), while condemning the registration of an FIR against senior Baloch politician, Akhtar Jan Mengal termed the same as worst kind of fascism.

JUIF spokesman Aslam Ghori and Hafiz Hamadullah demanded immediate withdrawal of the FIR against Akhtar Jan Mengal who is also head of Balochistan National Party-Mengal. Aslam Ghori said that the JUIP has always condemned the implication of politicians in cases on political basis. “There should be an end to tradition of political victimization,” the JUIP leader said.

He was of the view that the government should differentiate between democratic and martial law regimes. “How can we complain of others if democratic governments also resort to victimisation and character assassination of political leaders,” he said, adding that democratic values should be taken care of in politics.