Jam Kamal takes oath as Balochistan Chief Minister

QUETTA: Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Jam Kamal Khan on Sunday took oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Balochistan at a ceremony here at the Governor House.Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai administered oath to him. Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Deputy Speaker Sardar Babar Musakhel, caretaker Chief Minister Allauddin Marri, provincial assembly members, interim provincial ministers and high government officials attended the ceremony.

Jam Kamal was elected as the leader of the house during the Balochistan Assembly session on Saturday. He secured 39 votes while his rival candidate Younus Aziz Zehri of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) got 20 votes.

Jam Kamal has become the third generation of the Jam family to serve as the chief minister of Balochistan. His father Jam Yousaf and grandfather Jam Ghulam Qadir also remained the chief ministers.

Jam Kamal started his political career under the patronage of his father. He was elected city nazim of Hub in the 1998 local bodies elections and the district nazim of Lasbela in 2001. After his father’s death in 2013, he was made the Jam of Lasbela.

The same year, he won the National Assembly election as an independent candidate. He joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and was made minister of state for petroleum and natural resources. In March 2018, Jam Kamal and other dissidents of the PML-N and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) along with others formed the BAP.