Quetta - As per his constitutional obligation, Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai has summoned the provincial assembly session on January 9 to deal with the issue of no-trust motion against the chief minister.
The no-trust move by 14 legislators against CM Nawab Sanaullah Zehri to derail the PML-N led coalition government is being seen by some as an effort of the establishment to minimise ruling party gains in the upcoming Senate elections.
Chief Minister Zehri has claimed support of 47 lawmakers in the 65 MPAs assembly, and he is confident that his government would survive this storm.
He met with governor and NP President Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo yesterday to discuss the prevailing political situation.
Observers believe that political instability is too dangerous for Balochistan which has reeled under years of separatist insurgency and religious militancy.
Both supporters of the no-confidence motion and treasury bench on Thursday talked to media men after offering condolence with PML-N lawmaker Sardar Dur Muhammad Nasar over the demise of his mother.
National Party chief Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said they were partners of the PML-N both at centre and province so his party would not back the no-trust motion.
He said they wouldn’t allow NP lawmaker Khalid Langove, who is a signatory to the no-trust motion, to vote against the CM. He however urged the PML-N to take the matter seriously and look into issues that need to be addressed.
Balochistan can’t bear political experiments in the prevailing circumstances, Bizenjo said. He added the no-trust move would neither serve Balochistan nor Pakistan, nor democracy. He advised against holding the Senate elections in the given political scenario.
Former Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti – who was the first to leave the PML-N camp to support the no-trust motion – told the media that the motion against the chief minister was part of democratic process. He said he did not have any personnel grudges with CM, and accountability of anyone on the assembly floor was not an undemocratic act.
Bugti also expressed reservations over withdrawing security for MPAs Ruqaya Hashmi and Syed Agha Raza in the post-motion scenario and termed it an inappropriate action by the government.
To a question about the prospects of their success, he said it was only a matter of few days and time would decide if the no-confidence motion against Zehri succeeds of not.
PML-N Senior Vice President and Senator Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasar said that it looks strange that a government which some people appreciated for four and half years had suddenly become bad for them. If the government was not good then why these people did not take any action against it for such a long period of time, he asked.
Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Minister Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai said that way was being paved for a technocrats’ government in Balochistan. He flayed the so-called champions of democracy who were backing this motion.
“Why Imran Khan does not sack Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly if he is so fond of derailing democracy,” he asked and warned of devastating repercussions if their government was toppled.
Princes Ahmed Ali, who tendered his resignation yesterday, said that the issues behind the move were lingering on for a long time and it was just a coincidence that the volcano has erupted when Senate polls are around.
Assembly meets on Jan 9 to decide Zehri govt fate