Akhtar Mengal barred from leaving country

Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) head Akhtar Mengal was prevented from travelling abroad after being offloaded from a Dubai-bound private airline's flight, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Sunday.

Taking to X, Mengal said he was offloaded from plane while travelling to Dubai from Quetta and was told by Immigration staff that his name was placed in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).

The politician also went on to share a screenshot of the immigration data where his name was included "with the approval of the competent authority," with explicit directions to prevent him from leaving abroad.

Reacting to the development, former federal minister Agha Hasan Baloch and Ghulam Nabi Mari condemned Mengal's offloading while further terming the move as unlawful and unconstitutional.

"[Akhtar] Mengal is still a member of the National Assembly; his resignation has not been accepted yet," remarked Baloch.

Mengal, a veteran politician and chief of BNP-M, had resigned from the NA in September 2024 over the worsening security situation in Balochistan.

Earlier this year, Mengal had staged a 20-day sit-in at Mastung's Lak Pass against the arrests of Baloch rights activists and police action.

His party commenced a long march from Wadh to Quetta on March 28, and protested for nearly three weeks against the detention of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders and activists, including Dr Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch and had sought their release.