File photo of Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo
A faction of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and its allies on Wednesday submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, who is also from BAP.
Under the Constitution, a no-confidence motion needs the signatures of 20 percent of the total strength of a legislative body—in this case the Balochistan Assembly—to be tabled for discussion, while half of the members must vote in its favor for it to be passed. There are currently 65 members in the Balochistan Assembly, meaning 33 lawmakers are needed for the motion to pass, while 13 are needed to file it.
The motion filed on Wednesday bears the names of 14 lawmakers, including BAP leader Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, who was Bizenjo’s predecessor. He had resigned as chief minister last year after a no-confidence motion was filed against him. Among the other lawmakers who have backed the no-confidence motion are representatives of the Awami National Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
PTI Balochistan President Yar Muhammad Rind, who filed the no-confidence motion, told a press conference in Quetta that they had no “personal enmity” with Bizenjo, but believed his administration and style of governance was not in the interest of the province. “We have all the required numbers and the no-confidence motion will be a success against Bizenjo,” he claimed, adding that the next candidate for chief minister would be decided after consultations with other parties.
Slamming persistent issues of law and order and alleged corruption, Rind said Bizenjo’s rule had made lawmakers envious of the previous tenure of Alyani, who he claimed had issues with delivery but was not “corrupt.” To a question, he said that he had developed differences with PTI Chairman Imran Khan over his government’s treatment of Balochistan.
“We tried and struggled with Khan sahab but he did a lot of injustice with Balochistan and its people,” he said, and accused the party of overlooking loyal workers for key appointments.
Addressing journalists, Alyani said that he hoped the situation in Balochistan would improve, adding that he and his allies had not wished for another government to be ousted as his had been. However, he said, there were no major problems with a change in government so long as the assembly was allowed to complete its five-year tenure.
To a question, the BAP leader claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Fazlur Rehman also supported change in the province.
Speaking with media, Balochistan government spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah claimed the no-confidence motion would fail, adding that the opposition would be unable to secure the numbers it needed to succeed against Bizenjo.