KARACHI: Veteran politician and Balochistan’s former chief minister, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, has died at the age of 93.
According to Member of Provincial Assembly of Balochistan Akhtar Hussain Langau, he was ill and had been hospitalized at a private hospital in Karachi for the last one week.
His funeral will be held in his hometown of Wadh, in district Khuzdar, he told.
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 of the Mengal tribe.
It was Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, a founding member of the National Awami Party, 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.
Ataullah Mengal was the father of Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal.
President Dr Arif Alvi expressed his grief and sorrow over the sad demise of veteran politician Sardar Attaullah Mengal. He, in a message, expressed his sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi also expressed his grief over the demise of Sardar Attaullah Mengal.
In a condolence message, he prayed for the departed soul and expressed sympathies with the bereaved family.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib similarly expressed his condolences over the sad demise of veteran leader Sardar Attaullah Mengal, founder of Balochistan National Party.
In his condolence message, he said the services of deceased Mengal would be remembered for long.
The minister prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan conveyed his deep sorrow over the death of the senior politician and former Balochistan CM.
In a statement, he said Sardar Attaullah Mengal was a shrewd politician as his political and social services for the province would always be remembered.
He also prayed that Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.
Moreover, Balochistan Governor Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha on Thursday expressed deep sorrow over the demise of the founder of Balochistan National Party.
In a statement, the governor further said the services were rendered by the late Sardar Attaullah Mengal for the sake of democratic attitudes, equality and development of the nations would be remembered forever.
He also prayed that Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.
Central President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of the first former Chief Minister Balochistan Sardar Attaullah Mengal and termed it a great loss for the people of Balochistan.
In his condolence message, he said that Attaullah Mengal was a visionary politician who had always struggled for strengthening democracy and supremacy of the constitution and parliament in the country.
He said that Mengal was detained for raising his voice against dictatorship but he stood firm and continued his struggle vigorously, adding that his death created a vacuum in national politics and his services would always be remembered.
Expressing sympathies with the bereaved family, he prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and courage for the family to bear the loss with fortitude.
Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has expressed a deep sense of sorrow over the death of veteran politician Sardar Ataullah Mengal.
In his condolence message, the CM extended sympathies to his son Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other members of the bereaved family and prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace.
Late Sardar Ata Ullah Mengal was a statesman who enjoyed a unique political stature in the country, the CM added.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Mahmood Khan has expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Sardar Attaullah Mengal, former CM.
In a condolence message issued here Thursday, KP CM expressed sympathies with bereaved family members.
He also prayed to Allah Almighty for the eternal peace of departed soul and granting courage to family members to bear the loss with patience.
