Quetta: The Balochistan National Party (BNP) has announced an end to the sit-in protest that had been ongoing for 20 days in the Mastung district of Balochistan. The protest was held to demand the release of Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other female leaders and workers of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
BNP Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, while addressing a press conference on Wednesday, said that his party believes in peaceful struggle. He clarified that while the sit-in is being called off, the movement itself is not ending. Instead, the party is transitioning into a mass public outreach campaign and district-level protests across the province.
Mengal announced that in the first phase, protest rallies will be held in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Surab. The second phase will see protests in Turbat, Gwadar, and the Makran region, followed by the third phase in Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Dera Murad Jamali, and other areas.
He accused the state of obstructing BNP’s peaceful long march, stating, “Everyone else is allowed to protest, but we are not. There is permission to protest for Kashmir, but not for us.”
The long march had been launched by the BNP on March 28 from Wadh to demand the release of Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. The participants were scheduled to reach Quetta via Khuzdar, but authorities stopped them at Lakpass in Mastung district, where the protestors then staged a sit-in.
