Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, President of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), was prevented from boarding an international flight on Sunday after immigration officials cited his name’s inclusion in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL)—a watchlist used to restrict foreign travel.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Mengal was offloaded from a private airline’s Dubai-bound flight at Quetta International Airport. Officials said his name on the PNIL was the reason he was barred from traveling.
Speaking on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Mengal confirmed the incident, stating that immigration staff informed him at the airport that his name was on the PNIL and he could not travel. “I was scheduled to fly to Dubai but was offloaded without any prior notice,” he said.
Senior BNP leaders strongly condemned the move. Former federal ministers Agha Hassan Baloch and Ghulam Nabi Mari termed the action “illegal and unconstitutional.”
I was traveling to Dubai from Quetta was off loaded Immigration staff informed that my name has been put in provisional national identification list (PNIL)
— Akhtar Mengal (@sakhtarmengal) July 20, 2025
They emphasized that Mengal remains a sitting Member of the National Assembly, as his resignation has not yet been formally accepted.
BNP leaders said the government has no legal grounds to impose a travel ban on a serving MNA and demanded immediate clarification from the relevant authorities.
Akhtar Mengal, a prominent voice in the federal parliament for Balochistan’s rights and against enforced disappearances, is widely seen as the target of political suppression. The travel ban has drawn criticism from political and human rights circles, viewing it as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.
