By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the veteran politician and chief of his faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M), more than a year after it was submitted amid escalating tensions in the restive southwestern province.
Mengal, elected to the lower house from the Khuzdar constituency (NA-256) in the 2024 general elections, had tendered his resignation in September of that year, citing the “prevailing situation in Balochistan” that he said had left the province’s voices sidelined and suppressed.
The acceptance came after months of delay, which Mengal attributed to political fears within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party to which Sadiq belongs. “PML-N has at last accepted my resignation after dragging its feet long enough to expose its own fear,” Mengal wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “Was it the applause that unsettled you or the fact that I could draw crowds in Punjab’s core?” he added, in an apparent reference to his recent appearance at the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, where he drew attention to Balochistan’s issues.
At the conference, Mengal criticised recent political and electoral developments, alleging that mainstream Baloch political leadership had been sidelined. He also voiced concerns over restrictions on political activity, media access and civil liberties in the province. In his X post, Mengal emphasised that he had not drawn any salary since submitting his resignation and had vacated his official accommodation in the Parliament Lodges 17 months earlier. “For the record, not one rupee has been withdrawn since my resignation. Every amount remains in Parliament’s bank. The lodges were vacated 17 months ago and I have not resided there since. Adios!” he wrote.
In a separate post, Mengal reiterated that his resignation, submitted on Sept. 3, 2024, was a deliberate choice driven by principle in response to the “unresolved grievances of Balochistan”. “Instead of addressing those grievances, the authorities chose to suppress the issue, once again demonstrating that this federation has no real space for a Baloch voice,” he said. “What is now public is not just my resignation, but the mindset of those in power toward Balochistan’s suffering and how my appearance in Lahore was enough to unsettle many egos. I stand by this decision.”
The resignation followed a wave of deadly attacks across Balochistan on Aug. 26, 2024, which heightened security tensions and sparked increased protests against alleged enforced disappearances in the province. Soon after Mengal submitted his resignation, officials from the government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) urged him to withdraw it, arguing that he should continue to represent Balochistan’s interests in the National Assembly.
In a further escalation, Mengal was barred from travelling abroad in July 2025 when immigration officials at Quetta airport informed him that his name had been placed on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), a temporary measure to prevent individuals from leaving the country. Two months later, in September 2025, the Balochistan High Court ruled the travel ban illegal and ordered authorities to lift the restriction immediately.
In his original resignation letter to the National Assembly speaker, Mengal detailed the frustrations that prompted his decision. “The prevailing situation in Balochistan has compelled me to take this step,” he wrote. “Our province has consistently been marginalised and ignored by this House. Each day, we are pushed further against the wall, leaving us with no choice but to reconsider our roles.” “The lack of genuine representation in this Assembly for the people of Balochistan has left voices like mine unable to bring meaningful change,” Mengal continued. “It has become increasingly clear that our attempts to speak or protest are met with hostility, our people are either silenced, labelled as traitors, or worse, killed.” “Under such circumstances, I find it impossible to continue in this capacity, as my presence here no longer serves any purpose for the people I represent.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area but smallest by population, has long been plagued by a low-level insurgency driven by separatist groups seeking greater autonomy or independence, amid grievances over resource exploitation and underdevelopment. The province’s political landscape remains fraught, with frequent allegations of human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, which authorities have denied or attributed to militant activities. Mengal’s departure removes a prominent advocate for Baloch issues from the national parliament, potentially deepening the sense of alienation in the region.
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