ISLAMABAD: Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Friday hinted at joining hands with the opposition, saying the party will not be able to remain with the government if political issues in Balochistan remained unresolved.

The BNP-M chief was addressing a press conference after a meeting with a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) delegation who had called on him to invite him to opposition benches.

PPP leaders Khursheed Shah, former Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf, Nayyar Bukhari, Naveed Qamar, Farhatullah Babar and Agha Rafi were part of the delegation.

The former Balochistan chief minister said his party would join the opposition if it accepted the BNP-M’s demands, lamenting that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government failed to live up to its promises despite the passage of one year.

Mengal’s party is a coalition partner of PTI in the Centre, but sits on opposition benches in Balochistan. He said the BNP-M didn’t ask the PTI for ministries or other perks, only for action on its six-point demands. “We are ready to join the opposition if it accepts our conditions,” he said.

Speaking about his demands, Akhtar Mengal said if his party joined hand with the opposition then it would be due to the prevailing situation in Balochistan, it would have nothing to do with the budget.

It’s been over a year and PTI has done nothing to address our concerns, he said, adding same points have been put forward before the PPP and will be deliberated with other opposition parties as well.

The two parties had talked in detail during today’s meeting, he said, adding that the nation’s problems would not be resolved until democratic institutions are strengthened.

Mengal said that another meeting will be held in the next few days.

Earlier on Wednesday, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had constituted a three-member committee to oversee the implementation of the six-point agreement reached with the BNP-M at the time of the formation of the federal government in August last year after the latter’s covert threat to abstain from a vote on the federal budget.

A spokesman for the PTI had said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had “empowered” the committee to hold talks with the BNP-M leaders and devise a short- and long-term strategy for the implementation of the accord.

The members of the committee, headed by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, met BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on the same day and discussed with the latter coalition-related matters.

On March 26, the BNP chief had met Prime Minister Khan and formally complained about the non-implementation of the six-point agreement.

The six-point memorandum of understanding had been signed by the representatives of the two parties after a marathon session between Mengal and PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi after which the BNP had agreed to support PTI candidates for the positions of prime minister and speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly after last year’s elections.

The six points included recovery of missing persons, implementation of the National Action Plan, implementation of six per cent quota for Balochistan in the federal government, immediate repatriation of Afghan refugees and the construction of dams in the province to resolve the acute water crisis.