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| September 07, 2006 | Thursday | Sha'aban 13, 1427 |
BNP legislator asks opposition to quit assemblies
ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: Balochistan National Party (BNP) leader Abdul Rauf Mengal on Wednesday asked other opposition members to quit the assemblies to launch a decisive and final struggle against dictatorship.
“I will ask the leadership of all the opposition parties that it is high time to resign from the assemblies so that people of Pakistan can be freed from seven years’ imprisonment,” the BNP leader said while speaking at a news conference with leaders of the ARD and the MMA after resigning from the National Assembly.
Mr Mengal said he was to resign from the assembly two days ago but was stopped by other opposition leaders including Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the MMA to wait for two more days and there was a possibility that they would also resign from the assemblies.
He said they had resigned from the assemblies and the Senate as a last resort and in accordance with the wishes of the people of Balochistan.
The BNP leader said two MPAs and all nazims, naib nazims and councillors belonging to the party had also resigned to protest the killing of Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti.
He said he was happy that the Afghan parliament and India had expressed concern over the situation in Balochistan. He regretted that the resolutions of the NWFP and Balochistan assemblies seeking an end to the military action were not implemented. He said by killing Akbar Bugti, the government had given them a message that perhaps the federation did not need them.
Mr Mengal said Gen Musharraf was only a grade-21 officer and liable to be punished under Article 6 for abrogating the constitution. He said at present there was no constitution in the country. He said the Baloch people would seek justice from world institutions.
Replying to a question, he expressed the hope that the members of the JWP would also submit their resignations soon. At present, he said, they were in a state of mourning and shock. Moreover, he said, the JWP was also a part of the ARD.
In response to another question, Mr Mengal said the government and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) were making a propaganda that foreign countries were behind the Balochistan situation. He said if it was true then what was the use of such a huge army which could not even monitor movements across the borders. He said then the nation was justified in asking that why 80 per cent of the public budget was being spent on defence. He said it was a propaganda and that media trial of the Baloch people should be immediately stopped.
Mr Mengal claimed that Akbar Bugti had been targeted through a guided missile and the forces even used chemical weapons during the operation. He also condemned the rulers for not handing over the body of Akbar Bugti to his family members and for a disgraceful burial.
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