QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Wednesday declared the travel ban imposed on Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal unlawful and directed authorities to remove his name from the no-fly list.

A two-member bench headed by the Chief Justice and Justice Sardar Ahmed Halimi announced the verdict, which had been reserved earlier in the day after hearing arguments from all parties.

The case stemmed from a July 20 incident, when Mengal was offloaded from a Dubai-bound flight at Quetta airport after being informed that his name was on the no-fly list. The BNP leader later confirmed the development on social media platform X, remarking that the last time his name appeared on such a list was during the Musharraf era.

Following the incident, Mengal filed a petition through BNP lawyer Sajid Tareen Advocate, challenging the government’s decision to place him on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), which imposes temporary travel restrictions.

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Mengal, who resigned from the National Assembly in September 2024, has repeatedly voiced frustration over what he calls the federal government’s indifference toward the province’s grievances. At the time of his resignation, he lamented that “no one is willing to listen to us” and criticized the lack of interest in addressing Balochistan’s problems.

He also warned that Balochistan was already “slipping out of” the government’s control, while condemning continued bloodshed and political neglect in the province. Calling for political unity, he urged leaders to convene a meeting to collectively tackle the crisis.