Large number of people including the political leaders attended his funeral prayers held at a government school in the area.
Quetta:(UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 3rd, 2021) Ataullah Mengal, Balochistan's first chief minister and founder of the Balochistan National Party Ataullah Mengal, was laid to rest on Friday in his ancestral town of Wadh in Balochistan's district Khuzdar.
Mengal died a day earlier in Karachi after being shifted to a hospital there for a week.
He was 92.
A large number of people attended his funeral prayer held at the Government High school Wadh at 3:30 pm. A shutter down was observed in the town of Wadh while BNP had announced a 40-day mourning. The party flag would remain at half mast to mourn the death of the party leader.
Sardar Ataullah Mengal was born in 1929 in Lasbela and was the first chief minister of Balochistan. After spending his childhood there, he moved to Karachi.
In 1954, he was declared the chief (sardar) of the Mengal tribe.
It was Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, a founding member of the National Awami Party (NAP), who introduced Mengal to the world of politics. In 1962, Mengal was elected to the West Pakistan provincial assembly.
Mengal was known for his outspoken nature and his fight for the rights of the Baloch people. According to an article by Herald, in 1973, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s PPP defeated NAP’s government in Balochistan and called a meeting of the politicians to inform them that he would form a new government after coming back from a trip abroad. Mengal demanded that there was no time for delay and the provincial government must be formed immediately.
Mengal’s words infuriated Bhutto, who then questioned him what he would do if his demand were not met right away. In response, Mengal said: “I would struggle against the injustices inflicted upon the Baloch and stand against you.”
Per the piece, Mengal, along with three other Baloch leaders and members of the NAP, was imprisoned soon afterwards. The case is unknown as “Hyderabad Conspiracy case” in political history of the country.
