-Discusses political issues with PM
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Embattled Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, after meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, expressed faith that a no-confidence motion filed against him by his own party members would fail.
Alyani met the premier at the latter’s office in Islamabad to discuss the situation in Balochistan, days after disgruntled lawmakers of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and allied parties closed the door on any reconciliation by submitting a no-trust motion against the chief minister in the provincial assembly secretariat.
The motion was signed by 14 disgruntled members of the BAP and allied parties, including BAP Chief Organiser Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali, Mir Naseebullah Khan Marri of the PTI, who was sacked as health minister by Alyani two years ago, Mir Asadullah Khan Baloch of the BNP-Awami and Laila Tareen of the ANP.
Speaking to the media after his meeting with the prime minister, Alyani claimed that the no-confidence motion against him will not succeed. “It will be good if voting is held [on the motion] so that the situation becomes clear,” he said, according to a government handout.
Although he refused to divulge the final date for the vote, he said it would take place in the next 3-4 days.
Asked about Thursday’s meeting, Alyani said he and the prime minister had discussed development schemes in Balochistan. He quoted Prime Minister Imran as saying that Balochistan’s progress was among the federal government’s top priorities.
Noting that the federal government had announced a “historic” package for Balochistan, Prime Minister Imran said the government was taking steps to bring Baloch youth into the national fold.
The months-long political crisis in Balochistan had further deepened on Tuesday when Chief Minister Alyani denied that he had resigned as the BAP president.
The same day, the BAP secretary general had appointed Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, one of the disgruntled members, as acting president till intra-party elections.
On Thursday, Alyani wrote a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan, saying the BAP secretary general’s announcement about the appointment of an acting president had “no constitutional or legal value”.
He argued that the secretary did not have the authority to appoint an acting president, and reiterated that he had not resigned as the BAP president, according to a party statement.
Meanwhile, three members of the disgruntled group — Buledi, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and Abdul Quddus Bizenjo — are also in Islamabad.
The signs of the ongoing political crisis in Balochistan were first seen in June this year, when opposition members had camped outside the provincial assembly’s building for days in protest against the government led by Alyani for its refusal to allocate development funds for their constituencies in the budget.
The protest had led to mayhem and police had later booked 17 opposition lawmakers in connection with the incident.
Following that, 16 members of the opposition had filed a no-trust motion against the chief minister. However, the Governor House Secretariat had returned the motion to the Balochistan Assembly on technical grounds.
