ISLAMABAD   -   Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Tuesday resigned as the National Assembly Member over the worsening situation in the province, declaring no confidence in the state, the president and the prime minister.

“I announce my resignation from the Assembly today. I made this decision after witnessing the situation of Balochistan,” said Mengal during the National Assembly session. The resignation of a senior Balochistan member has yet not been accepted by the National Assembly Secretariat. Mengal was elected as an MNA from Khuzdar (NA-256) in the general elections held on February 8.

“Prevailing situation in Balochistan has compelled me to take this step. 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,” said Sardar Akhtar Mengal in a letter addressed to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

“The lack of genuine representation in this Assembly for the people of Balochistan has left voices like mine unable to bring meaningful change…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,” Mengal wrote in his letter, mentioning that under such circumstances, he find it impossible to continue in this capacity.

Earlier, Mengal said that thousands of voters would get upset over my sudden resignation from the membership of the National Assembly. Addressing a press conference, he said in his meeting with the Prime Minister, he had conveyed his emotions. “It is better to open a Pakoras shop than to do such politics,” Mengal remarked.

Mengal, in a post on X, termed his resignation a “tribute” to his father, BNP founder Sardar Attaullah Mengal. “On the third death anniversary of my father, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, I resign as a member of Parliament as a tribute to him,” Mengal wrote in a post on X. He reiterated that the prevailing situation in Balochistan had compelled him to make the decision.

Mengal’s decision comes in the wake of the province’s worsening law and order situation.

Balochistan, on August 26, was marred by a series of horrific attacks that resulted in over 50 deaths, including 14 security personnel, as militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) targeted civilians, police, and security forces.

In one of the deadliest attacks, at least 23 passengers were killed after being offloaded from passenger buses and trucks in the Rarasham area of Balochistan’s Musakhel. Separately, at least 10 people, including police and Levies personnel, were martyred in a gun attack in Kalat.

Furthermore, at least 14 brave sons of soil, including 10 security forces soldiers and four personnel of law enforcement agencies (LEAs), were martyred in clearance operations, wherein at least 21 militants were neutralised.