QUETTA: The National Party’s Central Committee announced it will boycott the April 5 by-election for NA-256-Khuzdar, citing a flawed electoral process that it says has become “controversial”.

The parliamentary seat became vacant after the resignation of BNP-Mengal Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who was elected from the constituency in the 2014 general elections.

In a decision made during a two-day meeting, the party’s central committee concluded that the transparency of the electoral process has come under serious question across the country. Dr Malik Baloch, the party president who chaired the meeting, said the by-election was marred by several issues, prompting the boycott.

“The Khuzdar by-election has become controversial due to the hurried announcement of polls without fulfilling constitutional requirements, the fielding of a government-backed candidate, and the rejection of nomination papers of around a dozen candidates,” he said. “Transparency in the electoral process is essential for democracy, but unfortunately, the public mandate has been undermined in general elections and by-elections,” Dr Malik said, adding that practices such as “Form 47” have emerged as “one of the worst and most negative developments in the country’s political history”.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026