Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other workers of his faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) remained unhurt on Saturday after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the party’s rally at Mastung.
Mengal had announced a “long march” from Wadh to Quetta to protest the arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and other leaders as well as police crackdowns on a sit-in. However, the Quetta administration has denied the BNP-M permission to go ahead with its rally.
Marchers and motorists from different political parties had started their journey to Quetta from Mengal’s native town of Wadh at around 9am on Friday. Earlier today, the BNP-M claimed that over 250 of its activists were detained as its march was met with police action near Mastung.
As reports of a blast near the BNP-M’s rally emerged at around 1pm, Mengal said on X that he was “safe with all party workers”.
In a statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said the same: “According to reports, there has been no loss of life. Sardar Akhtar Mengal and the entire BNP-M leadership is safe.”
The spokesperson noted that the BNP-M’s sit-in was underway near the site of the “alleged suicide blast” and that the public would soon be informed about the results of an inquiry into the incident.
The official assured the party that the safety of the rally’s participants, Mengal and other leaders was the provincial government’s responsibility.
Rind said the Balochistan government was in contact with the party’s leadership since last night. According to him, a delegation of the BNP-M also met with the local administration on Friday night, after which it was agreed that a government delegation would meet with Mengal.
The government called on Mengal, his party and the public to cooperate with it and “help in improving the situation through talks”.
Mastung Assistant Commissioner (AC) Akram Harifal told Dawn.com that Levies personnel stationed at Luck Pass spotted a suspicious individual and attempted to stop him, but he tried to flee.
The Levies officials pursued him, and as a result, the suicide bomber blew himself up. No other loss of life occurred, AC Harifal added. He stated that security arrangements near the rally site had been intensified, with additional Levies personnel deployed.
However, addressing supporters at Mastung later, Mengal claimed that four participants from the rally were injured in the blast. “We have no threat from any group. If we have any threat, it is from the state,” the BNP-M leader alleged.
The BNP-M president asserted that the government wanted to worsen the situation, but his protest would “continue peacefully”.
BNP-M President Sardar Akhtar Mengal addresses supporters near Mastung on March 29, 2025. — screengrab via video from author
Responding to the government’s offer of talks, Mengal reiterated his demand for BYC leaders and supporters to be freed: “Our answer is that the middle way is the release of women.”
“Release the arrested women, and we will return. I am ready to give my arrest in return for the release of women,” he added.
He further alleged that the media was being “told to not even look towards” the rally, let alone cover it.
BNP-M claims 250 held in police action
In a post on X earlier today, the BNP-M claimed that more than 250 of its workers had been arrested while “dozens have sustained injuries due to the actions of the security forces” near Mastung’s Luck Pass.
The party alleged that law enforcement personnel had employed “intense tear gas shelling” against the participants, adding that its march paused at Luck Pass due to road blockades by containers.
