The Balochistan National Party (Mengal) has announced the end of its 20-day-long sit-in at Mastung’s Lakpass.
BNP chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, during a press conference in Mastung, declared the end of the sit-in, stating that they believe in a peaceful struggle. He emphasized that the movement has not ended and that a public contact campaign will begin today as part of the movement.
He said BNP would start holding public rallies and protests. In the first phase, rallies will be held in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Surab. In the second phase, protest rallies will take place in Turbat, Gwadar, and other areas of Makran.
In the third phase, rallies will be held in Naseerabad, Jafarabad, Dera Murad Jamali, and other areas.
Sharing further details of the protest plan, Akhtar Mengal said the first rally would be held in Mastung, although he did not specify a date. The second rally will be held in Kalat on April 20.
Speaking about Baloch activists, he said that Mehrang had been “unconstitutionally” arrested. He expressed regret that “the state created obstacles in our peaceful long march.”
The BNP Mengal chief claimed that “not even a single moment was without danger at Lakpass.”
He questioned, “Does everyone else have the right to protest, but not us?” Sarcastically, he remarked, “Permission is granted for protests on the Kashmir issue, but not on Balochistan.”
Akhtar Mengal further claimed that the provincial government’s delegation, which held negotiations with his party, expressed their “helplessness.”
It is worth noting that the BNP had been holding a sit-in protest at Lakpass for several days against the arrest of Dr. Mehrang Baloch and other female members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). The Balochistan government had made several attempts to negotiate an end to the protest.
