–Party chief Akhtar Mengal says willing to join Opp if it accepts his party’s demands
ISLAMABAD: Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Friday hinted at joining hands with the opposition, saying the party will not be able to remain with the government if political issues in Balochistan remained unresolved.
The BNP-M chief was addressing a press conference after a meeting with a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) delegation who had called on him to invite him to opposition benches.
PPP leaders Khursheed Shah, former prime minister Pervez Ashraf, Nayyar Bukhari, Naveed Qamar, Farhatullah Babar and Agha Rafi were part of the delegation.
The former Balochistan chief minister said his party would join the opposition if it accepted the BNP-M’s demands, lamenting that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government failed to live up to its promises despite the passage of one year.
Mengal’s party is a coalition partner of PTI in the Centre, but sits on opposition benches in Balochistan. He said the BNP-M didn’t ask the PTI for ministries or other perks, only for action on its six-point demands. “We are ready to join the opposition if it accepts our conditions,” he said.
Speaking about his demands, Akhtar Mengal said if his party joined hand with the opposition then it would be due to the prevailing situation in Balochistan, it would have nothing to do with the budget.
It’s been over a year and PTI has done nothing to address our concerns, he said, adding same points have been put forward before the PPP and will be deliberated with other opposition parties as well.
The two parties had talked in detail during today’s meeting, he said, adding that the nation’s problems would not be resolved until democratic institutions are strengthened.
Mengal said that another meeting will be held in the next few days.
Earlier on Wednesday, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had constituted a three-member committee to oversee the implementation of the six-point agreement reached with the BNP-M at the time of the formation of the federal government in August last year after the latter’s covert threat to abstain from a vote on the federal budget.
The six points included recovery of missing persons, implementation of the National Action Plan, implementation of six per cent quota for Balochistan in the federal government, immediate repatriation of Afghan refugees and the construction of dams in the province to resolve the acute water crisis.