Barely six months after winning the general elections, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal announced on Tuesday that he was quitting the Parliament, admitting that he had failed to do anything for his people.
He announced during a news conference outside the Parliament in Islamabad on Tuesday evening that he had submitted his resignation to the National Assembly secretariat from the assembly.
The BNP chief said that there was no point sitting in and participating in a parliament that does not listen to what they have to say nor take any interest when they say it.
He complained that whenever they speak on issues pertaining to Balochistan, it is blacked out.
Mengal explained the reasons for his resignation, saying that after looking at the situation in Balochistan, he had decided to quit the assembly.
"The prevailing situation in Balochistan has compelled me to take this step. Our province has consistently been marginalised and ignored by this House. Each day, we are pushed further to the wall, leaving us with no choice but to reconsider our roles. The lack of genuine representation in this assembly for the people of Balochistan has left voices like mine unable to bring meaningful change," he wrote in his resignation letter.
"It has become increasingly clear that our attempts to speak or protest are met with hostility; our people are either silenced, labelled as traitors, or worse, killed. Under such circumstances, I find it impossible to continue in this capacity, as my presence here no longer serves any purpose for the people I represent," he concluded.
Mengal added that only a government in name was left, while his resignation from Parliament was a vote of no confidence in the incumbent regime and the entire system.
My resignation will disappoint some 65,000 voters, but I apologise to them, he said,
Mengal had been elected to the National Assembly from NA-265 in Balochistan during the February 8, 2024, general elections.