BNP-M may part ways with PTI in August: Mengal

ISLAMABAD: The Balochistan Natio­nal Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, has made it clear that his party’s alliance with the government will terminate in August as it will be free to parts ways with it since the agreement inked for the period is ending.

Talking to The News outside the Parliament House on Monday evening, he expressed disappointment with the ruling PTI’s attitude and revealed that the government has failed in constituting eight-member committee that had to look into the grievances of the BNP-M and Balochistan in the wake of non-fulfillment of the commitment made by the ruling party last year for resolving problems of the province and its people. The committee’s establishment was agreed in his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan last month in Islamabad. The BNP-M has designated its four members of the committee, but the government has yet to move in the matter, and it has failed to nominate its members. He regretted inaction of the government in this regard.

Sardar Akhtar Mengal had earlier maintained that his party could withdraw its support for the federal government led by PTI if the ruling party would continue igno­ring it while taking decisions abo­ut Balochistan, including matters related to Gwadar and Reko Diq. Interestingly, the PTI government came into being with difference of four votes in the National Assembly, while the BNP-M has five members in parliament. Sardar Akhtar Mengal recalled that BNP-M legislators voted for the PTI candidates in the elections for prime minister and president after signing a six-point accord with it. Sardar Mengal said the BNP-M would not betray the people of Balochistan who had reposed their confidence in it in the July election, adding they had supported this party’s candidates in the election on the promise that they would protect the province’s natural resources and its coast.

He said no one would be allowed to sell Balochistan’s natural resources. He said that no one could force them to withdraw from their struggle for the rights of the province’s deprived people. “We will welcome development projects in Balochistan but moves for turning the Baloch majority into a minority will not be accepted,” he said, adding, “We have no greed for ministries,” What his party wanted was only the rights of Balochistan’s people. Akhtar Mengal said that the BNP-M would not compromise on Balochistan’s shares in development projects, including those being launched under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).