ISLAMABAD: The ‘worsening’ law and order situation in Balochistan overshadowed the ongoing debate on the flood situation in the National Assembly on Friday as the lawmakers belonging to the province protested over the alleged government’s failure to protect life and property of the citizens in the wake of recent spike in terrorism incidents.
The house also passed a resolution “condemning in the strongest words” the recent suicide bombing at the public meeting of the BNP-Mengal in Quetta and “demanding of the provincial government to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The resolution, read out by Pullain Baloch of the National Party (NP), said that 15 people died and more than 75 people were injured in the incident.
The blast took place near Shahwani Stadium in Quetta’s Sariab area on Tuesday night, shortly after the conclusion of the public meeting of the BNP-M held to mark the death anniversary of late Sardar Attaullah Mengal.
Lawmakers slam govt’s handling of situation in the province; cite ongoing ‘military ops’, failure to address missing persons’ issue
BNP President and MNA Akhtar Mengal, who presided over the gathering, remained unhurt as the blast occurred when he was leaving for home. PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asghar Khan Achakzai of the ANP, and former senator Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shai of the National Party were also present, but escaped unhurt.
Speaking in the NA, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F said that since he was a child, he had been witnessing “military operations” in the province. He alleged that the government was not ready to pay heed to the genuine grievances of the people of Balochistan, and was unable to satisfy the family members of the missing persons.
“Instead of stopping the [military] operations, lawlessness and cruelty, the rulers are unfortunately sprinkling salt on the wounds of the people,” said Mr Haideri while referring to a reported statement of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in which he had stated that the Balochistan issue could be handled even by a police official of the rank of station house officer (SHO).
The JUI-F leader cited a number of recent terror attacks in the province, including the one on his own convoy, claiming that over 1,000 people and security personnel had so far lost their lives in these incidents. He asked the government to convene an all parties’ conference on the Balochistan issue.
The JUI-F lawmaker regretted that some 40 relatives, mostly woman and children, had been staging a protest sit-in outside the press club in Islamabad, but the government had not sent any delegation or team to hear their grievances. Instead, he regretted, the authorities were bent upon declaring them “traitors”.
“How can you call these people traitors and rebels when they have been sitting in the capital right under the nose of the parliament and the judiciary” requesting the government to tell them the whereabouts of their missing family members.
Another JUI-F MNA Usman Badini in his speech hit out at the opposition PTI over the party’s alleged silence on the issues of Balochistan.
“On one hand, the PTI people are making Mehmood Khan Achakzai their head and on the other hand, they are not ready to talk about the suicide attack in Balochistan,” he said.
Responding to the speeches of Balochistan MNAs, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry reaffirmed the government’s readiness to engage with Balochistan’s leadership and political representatives to find practical solutions to the province’s issues.
About the ongoing protest outside the NPC in Islamabad, the minister said the authorities had been providing security and necessary facilitation to them despite the fact that they had been staging protest on a road inside the Red Zone. He claimed that the government as well as the district administration officials had been in continuous contact with the protesters, and “trying to address their concerns through proper channels.”
He alleged that some individuals were exploiting the ongoing protest for their personal gains or political point-scoring.
The minister informed the house that nearly 2,000 missing person cases had been registered and the relevant commission had been monitoring these matters according to rules.
Interestingly, the minister indirectly put the blame of the Quetta blast on the organisers of the public meeting, stating that holding political gatherings without proper clearance created soft targets.
PTI’s walkout
At the outset of the sitting, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan regretted that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was not helping the flood-affected people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Mr Khan announced that the PTI members had decided to boycott the NA sitting, stating they could not be a part of the “unconstitutional proceedings”.
The PTI members staged a walkout from the assembly after making a failed attempt to disrupt the proceedings by pointing out quorum.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq declared the house in order following a headcount and continued proceedings without the PTI members.
The speaker castigated them for boycotting the NDMA briefing and offered them that he could arrange a separate briefing of the NDMA officials for the PTI members.
He said after staging a walkout from the house, the PTI members would now tell the press outside the Parliament House that they were not being given opportunity to speak. The PTI members held a “public assembly session” outside the Parliament House.
The NA session, which began on Monday, has been prorogued for an indefinite period.
Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2025
