Pakistan: Balochistan National Party's protest enters 12th day amid no breakthrough in talks

Balochistan [Pakistan], April 9 (ANI): The Balochistan National Party's (BNP) protest entered 12th day on Tuesday, with no breakthrough in talks, despite efforts by the authorities to end the sit-in at Lakpass in Mastung district of Pakistan, Dawn reported.
Pakistan's former Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani visited the protest camp and held a meeting with BNP chairman Sardar Akhtar Mengal. However, party sources revealed the discussion did not yield any progress towards addressing the impasse.
A BNP official said, "Sanjrani met Sardar Mengal at the camp, but no decision was reached." No formal statement was released by Sanjrani after the meeting. Speaking to reporters over phone later in the evening, Mengal said that Sanjrani had visited in his personal capacity.
He said, "We did not discuss calling off the sit-in," reiterating that the protest would continue as government did not give any meaningful response. He slammed the government over its handling of negotiations, stressing that ministers who previously held a meeting with BNP leaders lacked the authority to make commitments, Dawn reported.
He further said, "In three rounds of talks, there has been no concrete development. Our core demand remains the release of Dr Mahrang and other detained women. Yet there has been no movement on this."
Sardar Akhtar Mengal alleged that the government had caused hardship to people by blocking roads near the sit-in site. He said, "This is the first time a government has taken such measures -- punishing people instead of resolving the issue."
He said Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had got in touch with him and assured that the issue would be addressed. However, PML-N leadership and the federal government have made no progress so far, Dawn reported.
In a post shared on X, BNP stated, "The Balochistan National Party initiated a series of political education seminars from the 12th day of the sit-in protest camp at Lakpass Mastung. The series started with a tribute to the late Malik Saeed Dehwar and former chairman BSO Manzoor Baloch's life and contribution to the Baloch national movement. The second seminar would be on Babo Abdul Kareen Shorish and Malik Faiz Mohammed Yousufzai and the third seminar would be to honour pioneers of Baloch national politics Mir Abdul Aziz Kurd, Abdul Rahim Khuwaja Khail and Abdul Rahman Kurd."
BNP invited all Balochi literary writers and intellectuals to participate in these public seminars going on at the sit-in protest camp at Lakpass Mastung Balochistan. Participants in the sit-in protests gathered from various parts of Balochistan, demanding the immediate release of Dr Mahrang Baloch, Bebo Baloch, Shah Jee Sughatullah Baloch, Beberg Baloch and all BYC leadership, Baloch human rights activists and political workers," it added.
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Meanwhile, a delegation of the National Party, led by party president Abdul Malik Baloch, has visited Lahore for meeting with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. The NP team is scheduled to hold a meeting with Nawaz Sharif and PML-N leaders on Wednesday to brief them on the situation in Balochistan, including recent arrests and ongoing protests.
Malik is expected to present his party's demands for addressing the crisis and seek political support from PML-N. The delegations comprises Jan Muhammad Buledi, Member of National Assembly Phulain Baloch and a number of National Party leaders, including vice president and former MNA Sardar Kamal Khan Bangulzai, provincial president Aslam Baloch, central vice president Shahwize Khan Bizenjo and Punjab president Malik Ayub. (ANI)