QUETTA: Balochistan National Party-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal has welcomed the nomination by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif of National Party leader Dr Abdul Malik Baloch for the post of chief minister, but said the Balochistan issue could not be resolved unless the provincial government was fully empowered.

“The decision of the PML-N and its allied parties to nominate Dr Baloch for the top post in Balochistan is welcome… however, it is clear that the government will have to face great challenges — recovery of missing persons, ending target killings and dumping of bodies of missing persons and violation of human rights,” he said while talking to reporters here on Sunday.

Mr Mengal said the BNP-M’s political course would be decided by its central committee on Monday.

He said it did not matter which party held the posts of governor and chief minister of Balochistan because the fact was that no government could resolve the issues unless it was fully empowered to do that.

“The authorities will have to take serious steps to resolve the Balochistan issue if they are sincere in restoring the confidence of people in the mainstream politics,” he said.

Mr Mengal said 279 people had gone missing, over 100 had fallen to target killings and 50 bodies had been dumped during the tenure of the caretaker governments of Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso and Chief Minister Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Barozai.

He said that elements that had made Balochistan their colony would obstruct the process of bringing about a positive change in the province.

The establishment always harmed democratic governments sabotaged democratic movements.

He said his party had participated in the elections for the sake of progress and prosperity in Balochistan but its candidates had been defeated by planned rigging.