PML-N’s allies have say in Balochistan caretaker setup

ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s committed allies in the Balochistan Assembly have become a dominant stakeholder with equal weight as that of Chief Minister Abdus Quddus Bizenjo in the constitutional process of selection of the next provincial caretaker chief executive.

The National Party (NP) of Hasil Bizenjo and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) have just clinched the office of the leader of the opposition in the Balochistan legislature on the force of their combined numerical strength, 23 lawmakers.

Thus, Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal of the PkMAP has become a constitutional consultee along with Quddus Bizenjo to pick up the next interim chief minister.

The development came after the demoralising defeat of the PkMAP, NP and PML-N in the election to the top Senate positions, which were snatched away by independent Sadiq Sanjrani, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a set of independents and a few turncoats.

After Bizenjo’s election as the chief minister and the Senate poll, it appeared to the PML-N and its allies that Balochistan has slipped out of their hand, and their opponents will be in a comfortable position to bring their nominee as the interim chief minister. But the scenario has now changed. With Ziaratwal’s bagging of the post of the opposition leader, they are out of the woods to the extent that they will have an equal say in choosing the chief provincial caretaker.

Ziaratwal replaced Maulana Abdul Wasay of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who has been holding this slot for over four years since June 2013. The Balochistan chapter of the JUI-F in the provincial assembly sided with the no-trust motion against Nawaz Sanaullah Zehri of the PML-N and supported Bizenjo to become the chief minister. If it also deserts the chief minister, he will lose majority.

The harshest reaction to the defeat of the PML-N and its allied parties came from Hasil Bizenjo and Mehmood Achakzai, who have lawmakers from the same very province from which Quddus Bizenjo hails. They may be now somewhat satisfied after getting the office of the opposition leader. Hasil Bizenjo and Achakzai delivered most scathing speeches in the Parliament, condemning the buying and purchasing of votes to get Sadiq Sanjrani elected as the Upper House chairman. They held the view that such kind of shameful horse-trading was unheard in Pakistan’s history and said the practice brought immense shame to democracy and politicians.

As per the constitutional scheme, the chief minister and the opposition leader will hold consultations to nominate the interim provincial chief executive, and if they fail to reach consensus, the matter will be referred to a parliamentary committee having equal representation from the treasury and opposition benches. They will propose two names each.

If the committee was also unable to come out with a majority or unanimous decision, these four nominations will be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for selection of one of them, which will be final. The committee and the ECP are given a short time to decide that the interim setup is in place without any delay.

Even after having gained control over Balochistan by managing a revolt in the PML-N, depriving it of its entire parliamentary party, the scenario emerging after the next general elections may be quite different and against the wishes of the engineers if the NP, PkMAP and JUI-F joined hands after the polls. They will make the largest parliamentary block. It can’t be discounted that the PML-N, which will also sponsor its own candidates in the forthcoming electoral fight in this province, will not get anything. Whatever it gains will be added to the overall parliamentary strength of these allies.