LAHORE: Balochistan National Party (Mengal) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Tuesday called on PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz at Jati Umra and talked about taking the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Alliance of the opposition forward to oust the PTI government.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Mengal said that those forces who were interfering in politics of the country should be pinpointed by name, adding that more interference by these forces was made in Balochistan than in Punjab.

He said that it was a good omen for democracy that now voices against such forces were being raised in Punjab also.

Mr Mengal said that the PDM’s protest rallies would continue and soon there would be a ‘Dama Dam Mast Qalandar’. “Those forces who brought Imran Khan to power are themselves not satisfied with Mr Khan’s handling of government affairs,” he said, adding that Mr Khan did not have more powers than that of launching metro bus projects.

In reply to a question whether all PDM parties were supporting PML-N’s leader Nawaz Sharif’s narrative against the Establishment’s interference in politics, he said it was a new narrative of Mr Sharif, but this was the BNP-M’s old narrative.

In reply to another question, he said that all political parties in Balochistan were supporting the BNP-M on the issue of missing people.

Mr Mengal criticised the government for labelling the PDM of following the Indian agenda.

“The government’s allegation that the opposition was following the Indian agenda was no more acceptable to the masses because this is an old mantra as the people have now themselves realised who is doing what in the country,” Mr Mengal said.

When asked why he left the PTI government, he said because the BNP-M’s legitimate demands were not fulfilled.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2020