QUETTA: Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) president Sardar Akhtar Mengal has condemned Friday’s suicide attack in which 20 people were killed and dozens injured. He criticised the government over its failure to protect the life of citizens.

He was speaking to members of the Hazara community at a sit-in that has been set up to block the Western Bypass in protest against the killings in the Friday’s attack.

Mr Mengal said it seemed elements involved in terrorism in the country were more powerful than the government. He said the government had failed in restoring peace in the province and providing protection to people.

He said it was not the first such incident in Quetta, adding that the city had witnessed a number of such attacks in the past in which hundreds of people had lost their lives.

He said all people living in Balochistan, including Baloch, Hazaras and Pakhtuns, had their rights. But, he added, they were not being treated even as human beings by the state.

The BNP-M president also raised questions over the performance of security agencies, saying sarcastically that they had information what was happening all over the world but they did not know about terrorists’ activities in Balochistan.

He said people in the government had no right to rule if they could not provide security to people and expose elements behind such acts of terrorism in Balochistan and other parts of the country.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2019