QUETTA: The Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) has threatened to split from the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance — for a third time — unless the federal and provincial governments address the issue of missing persons and other demands, according to senior party figures.
For over two decades, Balochistan has been plagued by the scourge of extrajudicial abductions and enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by shadowy intelligence agencies.
Suspected of having links to insurgents, individuals are reportedly seized and transported to undisclosed detention centres without any legal proceedings. Here, they endure days, months, and even years of imprisonment, with no access to justice.
While some are eventually released, the vast majority are never heard from again, leaving their families to bear the heart-wrenching burden of uncertainty and grief.
The military “sympathises” with families of missing Balochs, but maintains that some may have joined militant groups and “not every person missing is attributable to the state.”
Pakistan has blamed India for fanning militancy in Balochistan, a charge New Delhi denies.
Abdul Wali Kakar, senior vice president of the party, and Waja Jahanzeb Baloch, secretary general, who were speaking at a press conference after a hunger strike outside the Quetta Press Club, further warned the party would not hesitate to table a no-confidence motion in the Balochistan parliament to remove the government of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) if the situation continues.
The leaders also rejected the government’s claims about Mahal Baloch, a suspected woman suicide bomber who was recently arrested by the counter-terrorism department of the police, and added they were not in favour of delaying general elections.
