QUETTA: Balochistan Natio­nal Party-Mengal (BNP-M) president Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal said on Monday that his party could withdraw its support for the federal government led by Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) if the ruling party would continue igno­ring it while taking decisions abo­ut Balochistan, including matters related to Gwadar and Reko Diq.

Addressing an election rally in Khuzdar, he said BNP-M legislators voted for the PTI candidates in the elections for prime minister and president after signing a six-point accord with it.

Mr Mengal said the BNP-M would not betray the people of Balochistan who had reposed their confidence in it in the July election, adding they had supported this party’s candidates in the election on the promise that they would protect the province’s natural resources and its coast. He said no one would be allowed to sell Balochistan’s natural resources.

The BNP-M and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have boosted the campaign for their joint candidate in by-election on provincial assembly seat PB-40 (Khuzdar).

Mr Mengal said that the BNP-M and JUI-F would work together for protecting the rights of Balochistan and that no one could force them to withdraw from their struggle for the rights of the province’s deprived people.

“We will welcome development projects in Balochistan, but moves for turning the Baloch majority into a minority will not be accepted,” he said.

“We have no greed for ministries,” he said, adding what his party wanted was only the rights of Balochistan’s people.

Mr Mengal said the BNP-M would not compromise on Balochistan’s shares in development projects, including those being launched under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018