A seminar organized by the Balochistan National Party (BNP) was held in Quetta under the chairmanship of party leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal. The event, titled “The Disturbed Situation of Balochistan: Human Rights Violations, Women’s Arrests, and Mines and Minerals Act Amendments,” brought together representatives from political and religious parties, student organizations, business groups, landlords, trade unions, and lawyers from various sectors.
Agha Hassan Baloch, the party’s central secretary for information and an advocate, presented a joint declaration during the seminar expressing serious concern over ongoing human rights abuses in Balochistan, including extrajudicial detentions and allegations of genocide against the Baloch people.
The declaration called for the immediate release of political prisoners including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Sibghatullah Shah Ji, and Ghaffar Qambarani. The declaratio also called for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir.
Participants emphasized that blocking the path of genuine political leadership in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while imposing artificial leadership, violating the sanctity of women’s honor and family privacy, and including political activists in the fourth schedule are unacceptable actions.
The amendment to the Mines and Minerals Act was condemned as an “anti-people measure” aimed at seizing control over Balochistan’s natural resources and was rejected outright.
Political leaders, lawyers, students, and labor representatives at the seminar demanded an end to the “colonial-style” governance system, cessation of human rights violations, and continuation of border trade, which supports millions of people in the region.
The declaration also criticized the allocation of millions of acres of land to non-local individuals, calling it a robbery of the rights of the people of Balochistan that will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, the 26th constitutional amendment was denounced as a conspiracy to place the judiciary under administrative control, with calls for its immediate repeal.