QUETTA: The National Party (NP) has condemned the abduction of Haji Noor Ahmed Lehri, father of the party’s Central Women’s Secretary and former MPA Yasmeen Lehri, and demanded his immediate and safe recovery.

The party warned it would announce a strong course of action if the government failed to recover Mr Lehri.

Speaking at a press conference, Nat­ional Party Balochistan Pres­ident Aslam Baloch, along with MPAs Mir Rehmat Saleh Baloch and Ms Kulsoom Niaz Baloch and Yasmeen Lehri, expressed the party’s serious concern over the kidnapping and said that the government has failed to maintain law and order situation in the province and the situation was worsening with each passing day and nobody is safe in the province.

He claimed Mr Lehri was kidnapped from his residence under the cover of darkness, and despite the passage of time, the government, police, law-enforcement agencies and district administration had failed to trace him.

The National Party leaders alleged that Balochistan had witnessed a steady deterioration in law and order situation over the past two decades, making people from all walks of life feel unsafe and insecure.

They said the provincial government’s inability to protect lives and property of the people had undermined the public confidence, arguing that the provincial government’s writ is visible only within the heavily secured “Red Zone” while the rest of the province is vulnerable to violence and insecurity.

The NP leaders questioned the effectiveness of the government’s security policy, saying that despite an annual expenditure of Rs130 billion on law and order, incidents of violence and abductions continued unabated in the province.

They also referred to the recent Hanna Urak and Ziarat incidents, saying they reflected official negligence and a lack of timely response.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026