KARACHI, March 6: The Pakistan People’s Party on Thursday condemned the ill-treatment meted out to the detained Baloch leader, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who had been refused proper medical attention.

Calling for an immediate release of Mr Mengal, who has been under arrest for over one and a half years, the central information secretary of the PPP, Sherry Rehman, said that there was no justification for keeping him in custody.

Ms Rehman said that the outcome of the Feb 18 elections had proved that the nation had rejected the politics of confrontation and intimidation.

“The long standing issues of the people of Balochistan can only be solved through political means.

“The PPP’s message of peace generated a very positive response from the Baloch population and being the leading political party of the country, we intend to take this approach forward,” she said.

The president of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and former chief minister, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, is suffering from a cardiac problem and is believed to be in need of medical care.

The PPP leader said that the manner in which the Baloch leader had been kept under detention since 2006, and the ill-treatment meted out to him raised serious questions about the government’s disastrous record on human rights.

“The regime has missed a record number of opportunities to heal the wounds of the people of Balochistan,” she said.