Cases against Akhtar Mengal withdrawn

ISLAMABAD - The Balochistan government yesterday decided to withdraw all cases against Baloch nationalist leader and former chief minister Akhtar Mengal.
The Balochistan chief minister took the decision at a high level meeting in Quetta and decided to withdraw cases against Mengal and his other nationalist colleagues. The cases include committing sedition, fomenting violence and attempting to undermine the unity of the federation.
Mengal who is currently in a Karachi jail facing trial at an anti-terrorist court may not be released immediately. The Karachi case was filed by a security agency accusing Mengal of putting under illegal detention intelligence agents who were deputed to spy on Mengal’s activities.
The Baloch leader was arrested two years ago on the orders of the then Director-General Military Intelligence Maj-Gen. Nadeem Ijaz. He was produced before an anti-terrorist court in an iron cage. It was alleged that his guards detained some intelligence officials who were trying to shadow and harass him and his children. On April 5, 2006, while Mengal was taking his son to a school in Karachi, two motorcyclists followed his car. On his way back, still being followed, Akhtar stopped his car and asked them as to who they were and why he was being followed, and what they wanted of him. They failed to give any satisfactory answer.