• Leaders from six parties warn of threats to democratic politics and provincial leadership
• Achakzai says provinces, local populations must get first right over resources
QUETTA: Six opposition political parties announced a complete wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across Balochistan on September 8 to protest against the suicide bombing that targeted a BNP-Mengal public meeting at Shahwani Stadium two days ago.
Fifteen people lost their lives, while 38 were injured in the blast that targeted a rally held to mark the fourth death anniversary of former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Attaullah Mengal, a veteran nationalist leader and founder of the Balochistan National Party (BNP).
The strike was announced at a joint press conference on Thursday by Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, BNP-M Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, along with leaders of ANP, National Party, PTI, and Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen.
They noted that senior leaders, including Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Sardar Akhtar Mengal, had miraculously remained safe.
They warned that such acts were an alarm bell for all political forces struggling for the rights of the people and their resources.
Mr Achakzai said that for the last two days he had been unable to understand the purpose of the attack.
If the objective was to eliminate the entire provincial leadership, what benefit would that bring to Pakistan, he wondered.
He said although the Constitution had repeatedly been violated and trampled, yet no one had ever been punished.
‘‘We will continue our democratic and political struggle for its supremacy openly and boldly. We are no one’s slaves; here there are neither masters nor servants,’’ he said.
Mr Achakzai added the first right over resources belongs to provinces and their local populations, and their share must be clearly defined.
He said finding those responsible for the attack was the duty of the state since intelligence agencies claim to be the best in the world. “If they fail to find the culprits, then the state and its institutions will be held accountable for our killings. This is our will to our people,” he declared.
Announcing the protest for September 8, Mr Achakzai said: “If we had wished to exploit public emotions that night, our workers could have set fire to all police stations and government offices in the province. Instead, we chose a peaceful, serious, and effective political response. On September 8, trains, airports, wheels, and shutters will all come to a standstill.”
The PkMAP chairman invited all political parties, including PPP and PML-N, to join the struggle and “speak with the generals” by demanding that the country be run according to the Constitution, law, and democratic principles. He said only in such a system could Pakistan become an Asian Tiger within 10 years.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal said that had the perpetrators of the March 29 incident been brought to justice, the blood of innocents would not have been spilt on September 2.
He accused the state of employing every tactic against political workers while failing to trace terrorists. He alleged that elements both within and outside official institutions may be contributing to terrorism, adding that the rulers had learned nothing from the killing of Nawab Bugti and were now targeting them as well.
Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2025
