Islamabad, Pakistan, October 18 (H.S.): Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of the Balochistan National Party, has questioned the effectiveness of counterterrorism operations in Balochistan, asking how many such operations have been conducted in the province and what results they have achieved. “Balochistan is burning today, and young people have taken to the mountains,” he said.

According to a report by The Balochistan Post, Mengal referred to the arrest of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his associates. He said, “The elected chief minister and speaker of this province are missing. Their government has also been taken away, and peaceful protests are not permitted. Such a system will not work. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are made to believe that they are slaves, but until we become one nation, we will continue to be kept in slavery.”

Mengal said the position of Speaker was a constitutional office and that even during martial law, the person holding the post had not been arrested. However, he noted that the Speaker was now missing from the country. He questioned the basis on which claims of democracy were being made under such circumstances. He added that elected representatives and ministers were absent, while members elected through Form 47 were also not present.

Born on October 6, 1962, in Khuzdar, Akhtar Mengal is the son of Mir Ataullah Mengal, a former chief minister of Balochistan. He also served as chief minister of the province from 1997 to 1998 and has been a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly.

Mengal is a prominent critic of the policies of the Pakistani military and government. He is known for his outspoken political statements on Balochistan’s circumstances and the region’s separatist movement.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar