The Balochistan National Party is a secular political party in Balochistan. BNP believes in national right of self-determination of people of Balochistan through peaceful and democratic struggle.
In 1972, the National Awami Party or NAP formed the first elected government in Balochistan after winning the elections and Ataullah Mengal was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Balochistan. But just nine months after the formation of the NAP Government, it was overthrown by Bhutto who used allegation that Mengal's regime wanted to disintegrate Pakistan and liberate Balochistan as grounds for this dismissal. Ataullah Mengal, Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Gul Khan Nasir, Nawab Khair Bux Marri and the other NAP leaders were thrown in jail. They were released when Bhutto's government was toppled by Zia-ul-Haq, after spending more than four years in captivity. By this time differences had arisen between the NAP leadership, so while Mengal, Bizenjo and Nasir went to the NAP headquarters, Khair Bux and Shero Marri headed home.
Later, Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo formed the Pakistan National Party or PNP after differences arose between him and Wali Khan over the Kabul Revolution (he supported the revolution while Wali Khan was against it). Gul Khan joined PNP and became the President of its Balochistan wing while Ataullah went into exile in London.
In 1996, Ataullah Mengal returned to Pakistan and formed the Balochistan National Party.
BNP swept the 1997 elections and was able to form a coalition government in Balochistan with Sardar Ataullah Mengal's son, Akhtar Mengal as the Chief Minister. This government did not last long as, soon, differences began arising between the Balochistan Provincial Government and the Federal Government.
In 2006, Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed by the Pakistani Army. BNP had vehemently criticized the government when the operation in Balochistan had been launched and after Bugti's death all four of its independently elected representatives resigned from their seats of the National and Provincial Assemblies.
In December 2006 Akhtar Mengal was arrested for allegedly ordering his security guards to beat up secret service personnel. Mengal maintained that these secret service officials had tried to kidnap his children as they returned from school and as a result, the security guards had beaten them. During his trail, according to Mr Iqbal Haider, secretary-general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, "Mr Mengal was brought into the courtroom and shoved into an iron cage with bars all around that stood in a corner away from his counsel.” Mengal was released in 2008, after the Pakistan Peoples Party government came in power, after spending almost one and a half year in jail.
After Akhtar Mengal's arrest, the rest of the BNP leadership was also imprisoned mainly in MPO cases. On December 2, Sajid Tareen was arrested from his chambers, Habib Jalib Advocate and Akbar Mengal were also arrested the same day. Jahanzeb Jamaldini was also put under arrest in December. Then, on January 3, 2007 the acting Chief of BNP, Mir Noor-ud-din Mengal was also arrested along with other activists while they were on their way to meet imprisoned workers of BNP in Khuzdar.
The Balochistan National Party's main demand has been for the right of self determination of the Baloch people and for the provinces having control over their resources.
