May 22, 2013

Balochistan: Women Of BNP-M Protest Against Election Rigging


The Women Wing of the Balochistan National Party – Mengal (BNP-M) staged a protest in Quetta against vote rigging in the recent Pakistani general election.

Below is an article from The Nation:

 

 

The Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) Women Wing on Monday [20 May 2013] took out a rally and staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club on Monday against what they alleged rigging in the May 11 polls.


The protesters, carrying placards and banners inscribed with different demands, shouted slogans against the alleged rigging in the general elections.


Addressing the protesters, BNP-M Women Wing Central Secretary Jamila Baloch, Sania Baloch, Rashida Baloch, Zaibun Nisa, Musarrat Baloch and others said the Baloch nation had capability of resisting exploitation and that its women had come out against the rigging in the elections.


They said the ECP had promised to hold free and fair elections in Balochistan, but the 65-year-old establishment had snatched the right of expression from the Baloch and altered the results of the polls through a well-though conspiracy to turn BNP-M’s victory into defeat.


They appreciated the stand of Sardar Akhter Mengal, saying he was making efforts for peace and prosperity in Balochistan. They said that by insulting the mandate of the masses, an ethnic party was declared successful in the Baloch-dominated constituencies to snatch the right of representation from the Baloch, adding they would not allow those who had been playing politics in the name of refugees.


They said the purpose of protest was not to gain power or go to the assemblies, but to tell the world how a drama was played with the Baloch people in the name of elections.


They said the elites sitting in Islamabad never gave importance to Balochistan and always treated it as a colony, adding they would continue struggle for the rights of the people of the province.


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