The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has announced a march on Quetta on April 6 to demand the release of Dr Mahrang Baloch and other detained leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal made the announcement on Thursday as a sit-in protest at Lakpass entered its sixth consecutive day.
Speaking to protesters, Mengal said talks with government representatives had failed to yield results. “They are not listening to us in this remote area,” he said. “Now the conversation will take place in Quetta.”
He urged all party workers to reach Lakpass by April 5 to prepare for the march.
Mengal warned that if authorities attempted to block the march, party workers should hold sit-ins wherever they were stopped. “If the government refuses to give us a way forward, we will make one ourselves,” he said. “The government will be responsible for the consequences.”
BNP leaders said that the authorities are digging trenches along the Quetta-Karachi Highway and blocking roads with containers to prevent the march.
The long march, launched from Wadh on March 28 under Mengal’s leadership, was organised in protest against the arrest of BYC leader Dr Mahrang Baloch and other activists.
After facing several obstacles, protesters reached Mastung, where key routes into Quetta—including Lakpass Tunnel and Kund Masuri —were sealed by the authorities.
The protest has since turned into a sit-in at Lakpass.
In a post on X on Friday, Mengal reiterated the party’s commitment to continuing the march.
“I appeal to all political parties, tribal elders, youth, men and women to join us,” he wrote. “We will march for justice, peace, and for the honour of our mothers and sisters.”
“No threat, no force, no oppression can stop us. If we are arrested, we will rise again. If we are martyred, the next generation will take our place.”” he said. “On April 6, at 10:00 AM, we will resume our march toward Quetta.”