QUETTA:
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, head of his faction of the BNP-M, lashed out on Friday at the PPP for arresting women in Baluchistan, saying that even under the Portuguese and British colonial domain or during the marcial law regimes, women were never arrested.
He expressed these points of view during a public meeting held in Gwadar, where a large number of people were present, including women, children and the elderly.
“We are not here for the score of political points, but to raise our voice for the rights that have refused Baluchistan,” he said while heading to the crowd.
Sardar Mengal said they are not afraid of being arrested, since their workers and colleagues have been arrested during multiple authoritarian regimes. “We were arrested if it was the dictatorship of General Ayub Khan or the era of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,” he added.
He regretted that the PPP has always attacked the young people of Baloch, citing examples such as the Lyari Gangs War and the 1973 military operation in Baluchistan.
“They still say ‘bhutto zinda hai’ – Thank God is not [alive]Otherwise, no home would have been saved in Baluchistan, “he said.
He claimed that the very base of the PPP is based on the blood of Baloch’s youth.
When questioning state institutions, he said that the courts can open at midnight to overthrow a government, but they cannot hear the complaints of the people of Baluchistan.
He added that Parliament can convene to approve a bill, but there is no room to listen to the miseries of the people of Baloch.
“The state label each voice raised against atrocities in Baluchistan as a terrorist. Today, Mahrang and Bebow are being labeled as terrorists. Tomorrow, I will also call me,” he said.
He said that despite having the latest technology, weapons and nuclear weapons, the state is afraid of Mahrang.
