ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday approved the resignation of Balochistan National Party-Mengal leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal, which had been submitted in September 2024 amid political and security turmoil in the province.
Mengal had won the Khuzdar seat in the 2024 general elections but stepped down months later, saying conditions in Balochistan and the limited space for elected representatives to raise provincial concerns in Parliament had compelled him to quit.
Reacting after the decision, Mengal said on social media that he had not availed any salary, allowance or residence facilities since handing in his resignation and had vacated the Parliament Lodges well over a year ago.
He criticised the delay in processing his request and linked it to political discomfort over his public engagements, including his recent appearance at a conference in Lahore where he spoke about developments in Balochistan.
At that event, he questioned electoral and political trends in the province and spoke about constraints on political activity, media freedom and civil rights.
In a separate message, the BNP-M chief described his resignation as a deliberate and principled step taken in response to what he called longstanding grievances of Balochistan that, in his view, remained unaddressed.
He had resigned shortly after coordinated attacks across parts of Balochistan on August 26, 2024, and during a period marked by protests over enforced disappearances and security operations. Political leaders from both the treasury and opposition benches had then appealed to him to withdraw his resignation and continue representing the province in the Assembly.
In July 2025, Mengal was prevented from flying abroad when authorities at Quetta airport informed him that his name had been placed on a temporary travel control list. The Balochistan High Court later ruled the restriction unlawful and directed officials to remove his name.
In his letter to the speaker last year, Mengal had argued that Balochistan’s issues were consistently overlooked in national forums and that attempts to raise them inside the Assembly were often met with indifference. He wrote that, under those circumstances, remaining in Parliament no longer helped him serve the people of his constituency.
