Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal has demanded a judicial commission into the Hanna Urak incident, saying the violence faced by Pashtuns today is part of the same cycle of repression long endured by the Baloch people in Balochistan.
Mengal made the remarks while visiting a sit-in in Quetta, where families and residents have been protesting over the Hanna Urak incident.
Addressing the protesters, Mengal said the sit-in was not a response to a single tragedy, but to a chain of violence that had continued since the creation of Pakistan.
He said the state had built its economy on Balochistan’s blood and resources, including its gas, oil and minerals, while the Baloch and Pashtun people living on that land had been denied dignity and rights.
In the eyes of state institutions, he said, the people of Balochistan were used when needed and then abandoned.
Mengal said the Baloch had once hoped that Pashtun leadership would stand with them when killings, enforced disappearances and what he described as “genocide” were taking place against the Baloch.
He said Baloch leaders had warned at the time that the same oppression would one day reach the Pashtuns.
“Today, the same situation has emerged,” Mengal said, adding that the Pashtun people were now facing violence and bloodshed.
He said the BNP-M stood with the Pashtun people and would support them in their struggle.
Referring to Balochistan’s recent history, Mengal alleged that the state had established armed groups, commonly referred to in Baloch political circles as “death squads”, to crush the Baloch.
He said these groups dumped mutilated bodies on roads, raided homes and abducted people, while no state institution acted against them. He added that they were given such power that they even took women away from homes, yet no legal action was taken.
He said the situation had reached a point where bodies were being kept in containers, while thousands of families in Balochistan had not even received the bodies of their loved ones.
Mengal said he was himself among those who, for 45 years, had not been able to see the body of his brother or give him a final shoulder.
He said the people had only demanded their rights, adding that when demanding rights and speaking the truth become crimes in a state, such states cannot survive for long.
Mengal demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the Hanna Urak incident.
“If the judiciary is independent, then why is the government afraid of a judicial inquiry?” he asked.
He said the state should accept responsibility and acknowledge the failure of its experiments in Balochistan, including the abolition of the Levies system and its merger into the police, as well as broader security policies.
Addressing the sit-in committee, Mengal said attempts would be made to end the protest or force the participants to withdraw from their demands. He urged them to remain firm.
He criticised the provincial and federal governments, saying ministers in other countries resign even over the death of one person, while in Balochistan the loss of multiple lives has no effect on those in power.
“If the representatives had been elected through the people’s vote, they would have resigned from the assemblies and joined the sit-in with the victims,” he said.
He said whatever future protest plan the sit-in participants announced, including a shutter-down strike, wheel-jam strike or other measures, his party would stand with them.
‘Put Your Own House in Order First’
Separately, speaking at a press conference alongside leaders of the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan, Mengal criticised Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s visit to New York, saying rulers were ignoring unrest at home while trying to involve themselves in international matters.
He said Naqvi may have gone to New York to look for an SHO who could “fix us”, adding sarcastically that perhaps local SHOs were no longer capable enough.
“These people cannot manage their own house, yet they have set out to resolve international matters,” Mengal said.
“Our words prick them,” he said. “So imagine, when our words prick them, what effect do their bullets have on us?”
He said bullets were being fired into the chests and skulls of Baloch children, while not a day passed in Balochistan without clashes or people being picked up.
“We are human beings too,” Mengal said. “Even iron wears down. Our bones are not made of iron.”
‘Political Voices Are Being Punished’
Referring to sentences handed down to political figures and rights activists, Mengal said Imran Khan, Dr Mahrang Baloch, Ali Wazir, Imaan Mazari and others had been punished, while those who violated the constitution or broke the country had never faced accountability.
“Write down and give me the name of even one person, whether in uniform or out of uniform, who violated the constitution and received even a single day’s punishment,” he said.
Mengal said political people were not meant to be imprisoned, and if the state truly wanted to resolve the issues of Balochistan, Kashmir and the country, it would have to show seriousness.
“If they want to keep running it this way, then they may continue,” he said. “But it will not last for long. At the moment, it is merely being dragged along.”