QUETTA, Dec 15: The Balochistan National Party (Mengal) on Friday announced that it would launch a movement on Sunday in protest against the arrests of party workers and alleged that the government wanted to poison Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

Addressing a press conference at the press club on Friday, Agha Hasan Baloch, acting president of the BNP-M, claimed that the government had indefinitely extended the house arrest of Sardar Mengal in Hub.

Criticising the arrest of the party’s acting president Sajid Tareen and Mastung chapter president Musa Baloch on Thursday, he claimed that the government had detained 1,500 BNP workers since Nov 30 to sabotage its Gwadar-Quetta long march.

He said that the government had withdrawn police officials from Sardar Mengal’s house and deputed ‘majors of ISI and MI’ and other agencies’ personnel, adding that Sardar Mengal’s personal staff had also been expelled and his phone disconnected.

Hasan Baloch alleged that intelligence agencies wanted to eliminate Akhtar Mengal like Nawab Bugti, adding that the agencies would most probably poison the party leader during detention.—Correspondent