By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal announced on Wednesday that he would unveil plans for new demonstrations on April 3, as his party’s sit-in protest against the arrests of Baloch rights activists entered its sixth day.
Talks with a provincial government delegation on Tuesday failed to produce results, with Mengal dismissing the negotiators as “messengers” lacking authority.
Mengal’s long march from Wadh to Quetta, launched on Friday to protest the detention of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch, remains stalled at Lakpass. The march also condemns a police crackdown on a BYC sit-in in Quetta, but authorities have barred participants from entering the city.
A government delegation – comprising Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, and Sardar Noor Ahmed Bangulzai – met Mengal on Tuesday at Lakpass but failed to persuade him to end the protest.
On X, Mengal dismissed the team as “messengers” lacking authority. “The delegation that visited us yesterday to negotiate on our legitimate demands lacked the authority to speak independently.
“They were messengers and lacked power, which lies with those who truly control this province,” Mengal said. “Tomorrow, April 3, 2025, at 5 pm, we will announce our next phase of demonstrations,” he wrote. “If they believe they can distract us with these hollow negotiations, let it be clear: they’ve miscalculated once again.”
Mengal also alleged a province-wide internet blackout since Tuesday night, writing on X: “Since late last night, all cellular networks and home WiFi in Balochistan have been shut down… The sole purpose of this blackout is to silence the voices of the oppressed.”
He claimed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party members heading to Lakpass were stopped, with trenches dug and more forces deployed.
“In response, trenches have been dug, more containers placed, and additional forces deployed. Every attempt the government makes to wash away its stains only ends up leaving it more tainted.” Addressing sit-in participants on Wednesday, Mengal warned: “If the women aren’t released by tomorrow, the containers will be removed from the road,” adding that women and children would join the march to Quetta.
He noted Sindh had freed BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch on Tuesday, but accused Balochistan’s “powerless” government of inaction. “The Sindh government has released Sammi Deen Baloch, but the powerless Balochistan government is looking somewhere else,” he said.
The unrest began with the arrests of BYC figures, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, detained on March 22 in Quetta after a police raid on a sit-in that left three dead. Sammi Deen Baloch was held on March 24 in Karachi during a solidarity protest but was released after Sindh lifted her detention order.
The march from Wadh, Mengal’s hometown, started at 9:00 am on Friday. On March 26, the BNP-M said 250 activists were detained near Mastung amid police tear gas and blockades. On March 29, Mengal survived a suicide bombing targeting his rally in Mastung.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s vast, sparsely populated southwest, has long simmered with unrest, as Baloch nationalists and separatists accuse the state of abuses like enforced disappearances and demand greater autonomy and rights for the region’s ethnic population.
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