Sardar Mengal along with Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal, and Shafiq Mengal’s group, have been engaged in a months-long conflict in Wadh Tehsil, Khuzdar. In response, Balochistan National Party Mengal has announced a long march.
On October 22, under the leadership of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the Balochistan National Party will commence a long march from Wadh, reaching Quetta via Khuzdar, Kalat, Sorab, and Mastung. The march will conclude with a BNP meeting at Hockey Chowk, during which the party’s future plans will be announced. It is noteworthy that in December 2006, Sardar Akhtar Mengal had previously declared a Long March titled Lashkar e Balochistan from Gwadar to Quetta, but was arrested before the march, spending over a year in jail and being removed from Balochistan’s political scene.
Following the announcement of the long march, the Balochistan government has imposed Article 144 in Quetta, a move criticized by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who perceives it as an attempt to disrupt the peaceful march. There are allegations that Sarfaraz Bugti, leading a group in Dera Bugti under state agencies’ auspices named Aman Lashkar, is running a death squad in a style similar to Shafiq Mengal’s.
The issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan has escalated since the caretaker government took charge, exacerbating an already dire situation. BNP Mengal should seek to initiate a political movement to eliminate death squads throughout Balochistan, rather than just focusing on Wadh. On other hand, instead of addressing the conflict in Wadh and dealing with the problem of death squads, the caretaker government’s efforts to suppress peaceful protests and the patronage of Shafiq Mengal are likely to worsen the situation in Balochistan.