April 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1429

QUETTA, April 21: The Balochistan government has withdrawn all cases registered against former chief minister and president of Balochistan National Party Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani here on Monday.

Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Home Secretary Furqan Bahadur and IGP Saud Gohar attended the meeting.

“Fourteen cases were registered against Mr Mengal, including a treason case,” official sources told Dawn, adding that the accused in the treason case registered in 2004 included two other leaders of the party.

The sources said that the meeting observed that all the cases had been registered on political grounds. The meeting also decided to withdrew all cases against BNP leaders Habib Jalib, Sajid Tareen and Sindhi nationalist leader Dr Safdar Sirki.

Mr Raisani said the Sindh government would be requested to drop cases registered against Mr Mengal and other BNP leaders, adding that there would be progress soon.

“I have taken up the Karachi case against Sardar Mengal with Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik and I hope that Mr Mengal will be a free man soon,” Mr Raisani told Dawn. Mr Mengal, who had been in Central Jail, Karachi, for about a year was recently shifted to a private hospital in city for treatment.