ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced that the by-election for NA-256 (Khuzdar), Balochistan, left vacant by the resignation of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, will be held on April 5.
As per the ECP notification, candidates wishing to contest the by-election must submit their nomination papers between February 20 and 24.
Mengal, leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), resigned from his National Assembly seat in 2024, and his resignation was formally accepted by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq earlier this week.
The BNP leader, a staunch critic of the government, has accused authorities of unfairly targeting his party.
In his resignation letter, he argued that despite his attempts to pursue legal action, deliver speeches in Parliament, and propose reforms, both he and his party were unjustly labelled as “traitors.”
Mengal’s dissatisfaction with the 2024 general elections also surfaced in his resignation, with him accusing the powers that be of engineering ‘artificial leadership’ in Balochistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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