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BREAKING NEWS: Baloch Leader Akhtar Jan
Mengal Released... Finally !
10 May 2008
KARACHI — Baloch nationalist leader and former chief minister of Balochistan
Sardar Akhtar Mengal was released here yesterday after an anti-terrorism court
issued orders for his release.
Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza himself carried the release orders to a
hospital in Karachi where Mengal had been languishing for two months and
which was declared a sub-jail. A large number of party workers present at the
hospital greeted Mengal when he was released.
Addressing on the occasion, Mengal called for the release of all Baloch
nationalists. He said there would be no change in his party policies and warned
that Gwadar belonged to the Baloch and would remain so.
Mengal, the central president of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal), had been
in custody since December 2006 under various charges including those of
treason. Under a reconciliation policy, the Balochistan government has
withdrawn all cases against Mengal about a week back.
And yesterday, the Sindh government withdrew the one remaining case against
him, clearing the way for his release. SOURCE: Khaleej Times
Mengal Released... Finally !
10 May 2008
KARACHI — Baloch nationalist leader and former chief minister of Balochistan
Sardar Akhtar Mengal was released here yesterday after an anti-terrorism court
issued orders for his release.
Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza himself carried the release orders to a
hospital in Karachi where Mengal had been languishing for two months and
which was declared a sub-jail. A large number of party workers present at the
hospital greeted Mengal when he was released.
Addressing on the occasion, Mengal called for the release of all Baloch
nationalists. He said there would be no change in his party policies and warned
that Gwadar belonged to the Baloch and would remain so.
Mengal, the central president of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal), had been
in custody since December 2006 under various charges including those of
treason. Under a reconciliation policy, the Balochistan government has
withdrawn all cases against Mengal about a week back.
And yesterday, the Sindh government withdrew the one remaining case against
him, clearing the way for his release. SOURCE: Khaleej Times
Fri May 9, 2008. Baloch Nationalist leader of Pakistan's Occpied Balochistan, Akhtar
Mengal, (C) gestures to supporters after his release from jail in Karachi. A Pakistani
anti-terrorism court on Friday acquitted Mengal after the government withdrew all
politically motivated fabricated cases against him.
Mengal, (C) gestures to supporters after his release from jail in Karachi. A Pakistani
anti-terrorism court on Friday acquitted Mengal after the government withdrew all
politically motivated fabricated cases against him.
| Sardar Akhter Jan Meeting Meer Ayoob Sasoli |
Baloch leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal waves to supporters after his release from jail in
Karachi May 9, 2008. Mengal, the former chief minister of Baluchistan province and
the leader of Baluchistan National Party (BNP) was released on Friday by the newly
elected government as part of its reconciliation efforts in the restive Balochistan.
Karachi May 9, 2008. Mengal, the former chief minister of Baluchistan province and
the leader of Baluchistan National Party (BNP) was released on Friday by the newly
elected government as part of its reconciliation efforts in the restive Balochistan.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, center, a prominent ethnic Baloch leader, waves as his
supporters greet him, after his release in Karachi, Pakistan on Friday, May 9,
2008. Pakistan's new government freed the ethnic Baloch leader after dropping
all the false cases against him in a reconciliation bid to win the hearts of he
Baloch people.
supporters greet him, after his release in Karachi, Pakistan on Friday, May 9,
2008. Pakistan's new government freed the ethnic Baloch leader after dropping
all the false cases against him in a reconciliation bid to win the hearts of he
Baloch people.
Baloch leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal gestures as he is greeted by his supporters
after his release from jail in Karachi May 9, 2008. Mengal, the former chief
minister of the Balochistan and the leader of Baluchistan National Party (BNP) was
released on Friday by the newly elected Pakistani government as part of its
reconciliation efforts in the restive Baluchistan province,
after his release from jail in Karachi May 9, 2008. Mengal, the former chief
minister of the Balochistan and the leader of Baluchistan National Party (BNP) was
released on Friday by the newly elected Pakistani government as part of its
reconciliation efforts in the restive Baluchistan province,
Related Links:
-
Akhtar Mengal released today; The Pakistan Link - May 09 8:44 AM
-
Mengal freed; worried about missing workers. Dawn - May 09 8:50 PM
-
IANS via Yahoo! India News.
-
Pakistan frees Baloch nationalist: BBC News, Islamabad
-
Akhtar Mengal exonerated in treason case: Dawn May 3, 2008
Pakistan releases rebel nationalist leader
Fri, May 9 09:02 PM
Islamabad, May 9 (DPA) Pakistani authorities Friday released a nationalist and senior rebel leader, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, as part of
reconciliatory efforts to end violence in the insurgency-hit south-western province of Balochistan.
Mengal, who is the chief of his own faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), was arrested in November 2006 for allegedly
abducting and manhandling two undercover military officials. He also faced charges of sedition.
'I will be really pleased when all the political prisoners of Pakistan, especially from Balochistan, will be released and those who are
missing will be brought back,' said Mengal as he walked out of a hospital in the port city of Karachi where he was undergoing medical
treatment.
Hundreds of cheering BNP activists greeted their leader on his release.
Balochistan saw a surge in violence during the last four years in the wake of increased use of military means to quell insurgency. The
number of political arrests and people going missing also rose during the period.
The insurgents, who occasionally target civic infrastructure in Balochistan, have demanded greater provincial autonomy besides
seeking due share of profits from exploitation of natural resources in the area.
Pakistan's new national and provincial governments, which were formed after candidates supporting President Pervez Musharraf
were trounced in the Feb 18 vote, decided last month to broker peace with Baloch armed rebels.
'We should start the process of reconciliation so we may bring peace and prosperity to this federal unit, especially, and in large to the
country,' Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani said during an assembly session last month.
The anti-Musharraf parliamentarians also vowed to release the political prisoners, with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani saying last
week that: 'We want to see Sardar Mengal released as soon as possible.'
Source: Pakistan frees Baloch nationalist
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad
The new government in Pakistan has released from prison a nationalist leader from the province of Balochistan, Akthar Mengal.
Mr Mengal has been in prison for the past two years.
The move is seen as a gesture for peace towards a province that has been wracked by an armed insurgency for the past four years.
Baloch rebels are demanding either independence from Pakistan or greater autonomy within it.
Uprisings
Akhtar Mengal's release is seen as part of the new government's policy of reconciliation and bringing peace to the restive province of
Balochistan.
This includes setting free political prisoners like Mr Mengal, investigating the hundreds of Baloch nationalists believed to have been
abducted by security forces and granting greater autonomy to the region.
Balochistan is the country's largest province, and richest in natural wealth, but its people are the poorest.
The Baloch have long accused the central government of exploiting their resources and treating their province like a colony.
This has led to several armed uprisings, the most recent of which broke out in 2004.
Mr Mengal's release will be welcomed by mainstream nationalist forces, but it's unlikely to stop the insurgency.
The armed rebels demand independence and reject negotiations with the central government.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
Pakistan frees ethnic leader in bid to bring peace
By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 9, 11:19 PM ET
Pakistan's new government freed a prominent ethnic Baluch leader Friday as it tries to forge reconciliation in the restive southwest of
the country.
Jubilant supporters crowded Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of Baluchistan National Party, as he left a Karachi hospital, where he was
detained because of ill health.
Mengal was arrested in August 2006, accused of torturing two military intelligence officials. Supporters claimed the accusations were
politically motivated.
Senior security official Arif Ahmed Khan said charges against Mengal have been withdrawn.
Pakistan's newly elected civilian government says it wants to promote dialogue with ethnic leaders in impoverished Baluchistan,
scene of a long-running insurgency.
The former government of President Pervez Musharraf launched military operations against Baluch rebels, who are fighting for more
autonomy and a greater share of the revenues from natural gas and other resources extracted from the region.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting, which is separate from the struggle between Islamic militants and
security forces further north along the Afghan frontier.
"My release is victory of democracy," Mengal told reporters after his release. "We never compromised on our principles with a dictator
and did not bow before Musharraf."
The release of Mengal, a former chief minister of Baluchistan, came days after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani traveled to the
province. After talks with government officials and ethnic Baluch leaders, he ordered the withdrawal of all the charges against Mengal.
Authorities have previously accused the Baluchistan National Party of links to militants that launch attacks on security forces. The party
denies involvement and says it is committed to political struggle.
Despite the peace overtures, suspected Baluch rebels have intensified attacks on police and security officials.
Source:
Akhtar Mengal exonerated in treason case
By Amanullah Kasi
QUETTA, May 2: The Balochistan High Court on Friday exonerated BNP-Mengal leaders Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Habib Jalib Baloch
from treason charges.
A single-judge bench of Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai ordered the departments concerned to remove the names of the two
leaders from the FIR registered by three police stations.
The New Sariab police station, Sariab police station and Civil Lines police station had on August 30, 2006, registered the FIR against
Akhtar Mengal, Habib Jalib and others for inciting people against the state at a public meeting after the Ghaibana Namaz-i-Janaza for
Nawab Akbar Bugti.
Advocate Habib Jalib, who besides being an applicant was also counsel for Sardar Mengal during the hearing rejected charges
levelled by the prosecution and said that they had been implicated in false cases.
Sardar Mengal was acquitted in one case and Habib Jalib in two cases. On the request of the applicant-cum-counsel, the court
adjourned till May 9 the hearing in four other cases against the BNP-M leaders.
An anti-terrorism court has already exonerated Senator Shahid Bugti and former senator Amanullah Kanrani from treason cases
registered on August 30, 2006.
SOURCE: Dawn
Fri, May 9 09:02 PM
Islamabad, May 9 (DPA) Pakistani authorities Friday released a nationalist and senior rebel leader, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, as part of
reconciliatory efforts to end violence in the insurgency-hit south-western province of Balochistan.
Mengal, who is the chief of his own faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), was arrested in November 2006 for allegedly
abducting and manhandling two undercover military officials. He also faced charges of sedition.
'I will be really pleased when all the political prisoners of Pakistan, especially from Balochistan, will be released and those who are
missing will be brought back,' said Mengal as he walked out of a hospital in the port city of Karachi where he was undergoing medical
treatment.
Hundreds of cheering BNP activists greeted their leader on his release.
Balochistan saw a surge in violence during the last four years in the wake of increased use of military means to quell insurgency. The
number of political arrests and people going missing also rose during the period.
The insurgents, who occasionally target civic infrastructure in Balochistan, have demanded greater provincial autonomy besides
seeking due share of profits from exploitation of natural resources in the area.
Pakistan's new national and provincial governments, which were formed after candidates supporting President Pervez Musharraf
were trounced in the Feb 18 vote, decided last month to broker peace with Baloch armed rebels.
'We should start the process of reconciliation so we may bring peace and prosperity to this federal unit, especially, and in large to the
country,' Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani said during an assembly session last month.
The anti-Musharraf parliamentarians also vowed to release the political prisoners, with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani saying last
week that: 'We want to see Sardar Mengal released as soon as possible.'
Source: Pakistan frees Baloch nationalist
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad
The new government in Pakistan has released from prison a nationalist leader from the province of Balochistan, Akthar Mengal.
Mr Mengal has been in prison for the past two years.
The move is seen as a gesture for peace towards a province that has been wracked by an armed insurgency for the past four years.
Baloch rebels are demanding either independence from Pakistan or greater autonomy within it.
Uprisings
Akhtar Mengal's release is seen as part of the new government's policy of reconciliation and bringing peace to the restive province of
Balochistan.
This includes setting free political prisoners like Mr Mengal, investigating the hundreds of Baloch nationalists believed to have been
abducted by security forces and granting greater autonomy to the region.
Balochistan is the country's largest province, and richest in natural wealth, but its people are the poorest.
The Baloch have long accused the central government of exploiting their resources and treating their province like a colony.
This has led to several armed uprisings, the most recent of which broke out in 2004.
Mr Mengal's release will be welcomed by mainstream nationalist forces, but it's unlikely to stop the insurgency.
The armed rebels demand independence and reject negotiations with the central government.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
Pakistan frees ethnic leader in bid to bring peace
By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 9, 11:19 PM ET
Pakistan's new government freed a prominent ethnic Baluch leader Friday as it tries to forge reconciliation in the restive southwest of
the country.
Jubilant supporters crowded Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of Baluchistan National Party, as he left a Karachi hospital, where he was
detained because of ill health.
Mengal was arrested in August 2006, accused of torturing two military intelligence officials. Supporters claimed the accusations were
politically motivated.
Senior security official Arif Ahmed Khan said charges against Mengal have been withdrawn.
Pakistan's newly elected civilian government says it wants to promote dialogue with ethnic leaders in impoverished Baluchistan,
scene of a long-running insurgency.
The former government of President Pervez Musharraf launched military operations against Baluch rebels, who are fighting for more
autonomy and a greater share of the revenues from natural gas and other resources extracted from the region.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting, which is separate from the struggle between Islamic militants and
security forces further north along the Afghan frontier.
"My release is victory of democracy," Mengal told reporters after his release. "We never compromised on our principles with a dictator
and did not bow before Musharraf."
The release of Mengal, a former chief minister of Baluchistan, came days after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani traveled to the
province. After talks with government officials and ethnic Baluch leaders, he ordered the withdrawal of all the charges against Mengal.
Authorities have previously accused the Baluchistan National Party of links to militants that launch attacks on security forces. The party
denies involvement and says it is committed to political struggle.
Despite the peace overtures, suspected Baluch rebels have intensified attacks on police and security officials.
Source:
Akhtar Mengal exonerated in treason case
By Amanullah Kasi
QUETTA, May 2: The Balochistan High Court on Friday exonerated BNP-Mengal leaders Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Habib Jalib Baloch
from treason charges.
A single-judge bench of Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai ordered the departments concerned to remove the names of the two
leaders from the FIR registered by three police stations.
The New Sariab police station, Sariab police station and Civil Lines police station had on August 30, 2006, registered the FIR against
Akhtar Mengal, Habib Jalib and others for inciting people against the state at a public meeting after the Ghaibana Namaz-i-Janaza for
Nawab Akbar Bugti.
Advocate Habib Jalib, who besides being an applicant was also counsel for Sardar Mengal during the hearing rejected charges
levelled by the prosecution and said that they had been implicated in false cases.
Sardar Mengal was acquitted in one case and Habib Jalib in two cases. On the request of the applicant-cum-counsel, the court
adjourned till May 9 the hearing in four other cases against the BNP-M leaders.
An anti-terrorism court has already exonerated Senator Shahid Bugti and former senator Amanullah Kanrani from treason cases
registered on August 30, 2006.
SOURCE: Dawn
Baloch Nationalist leader Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal's interview to BBC.