BNP-M to form nationalist alliance

Published October 25, 2002

QUETTA, Oct 24: The Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) will form a democratic alliance of nationalist progressive parties for protecting rights and resources of Balochistan.

This was decided at a meeting of the BNP-M central committee the other day at Kharan House. Party President Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal presided over the meeting.

“A comprehensive strategy of nationalist parties would be devised soon,” party sources said here on Wednesday.

The meeting also approved a protest plan of the PONM and ensure full support to make the shutter-down call of the alliance a success.

The PONM has given the call to register a protest against the alleged rigging in the October elections through government agencies.

The BNP-M committee said the party would help form a big coalition, comprising the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy or the PONM in the assemblies, also to press ahead the PONM programmes at all levels.

The committee has directed the district organizations of the BNP-M to prepare a detailed report on rigging in the elections and send it to the central body within a month.

The meeting also criticized the government for not arresting the culprits responsible for the murders of Aslam Gichki, Ghulam Nabi Marri and Khan Mohammad Ghulamani.

HUNGER STRIKE: The president, Balochistan National Movement (BNM), Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, observed hunger strike along with MPAs-elect and other leaders of the party on Thursday.

The BNM has been observing a token hunger strike for the last five days in Quetta in protest against declaring a defeated candidate of the National Alliance as MPA-elect from PB-48 (Kech-1) in the recounting.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan had declared BNM Secretary-General Dr Yasin Baloch as successful candidate. He won the seat with a margin of around 500 votes.

Other leaders of the BNM, who observed hunger strike, were: Jan Mohammad Buladi, Rahmat Baloch, Kachkol Ali Baloch, Dr Ishaq Baloch and others.

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