Status of government: Balochistan falls into constitutional crisis

Speaker refuses to summon assembly session, refers matter to governor; Raisani to appear in SC today.

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD:

Reeling from the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Balochistan government’s failure, the current provincial set-up has fallen into a constitutional crisis.

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, who will appear before the Supreme Court today, faces imminent ouster, though, in a press conference on Thursday, he shrugged off any sort of adverse situation on the cards. Some quarters also said that Raisani could file a review petition today in court.

As rumours swirl around the fate of the provincial government, an attempt to summon a session of the Balochistan Assembly and cabinet was stymied – by none other than the assembly’s speaker who questioned whether such a move would amount to contempt of court.

Balochistan Assembly Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhootani has said that in order to review the constitutional status of the Balochistan government after the Supreme Court’s interim order, a letter has been written to the provincial governor’s secretariat to ascertain whether a meeting of the provincial assembly could be called or not. “If the governor says, we will summon the meeting,” he added.

While the government is still technically in place, its legitimacy came under closer scrutiny after the Supreme Court questioned its constitutional status given that it had lost the authority to govern the province following its interim order last month.

Talking to journalists via phone from Lasbela district on Thursday, Bhootani said that a letter had been written to the assembly secretariat from the secretariat of Chief Minister Raisani asking for summoning a meeting of the cabinet on 9th and 10th of November in Gwadar which would also be attended by the prime minister. “A letter has been written to governor secretariat to ascertain if we can summon assembly’s session or do so would be contempt of court,” Boothani said.

Raisani in SC

In a bid to show his strength, the beleaguered chief minister of Balochistan planned to appear before the apex court today (Friday) along with his entire cabinet – numbering over 50 ministers, according to a government official.

Addressing a press conference, Raisani said the provincial government had the full support of allied parties and he would present his position on the case before the apex court. “We will appear before the court and defend ourselves according to the law and constitution,” he added.

He also strongly refuted the allegation that he was not taking an interest in Balochistan’s affairs and said that he was discharging his duties as defined by the Constitution while his government was serving the masses. “It is easy to level allegations but difficult to prove them,” he added. He also said that the Balochistan government was enjoying the full support of the provincial assembly and the people.

However, Mir Sadiq Umrani , the president of the Balochistan chapter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who is also a provincial minister, said that only 10 to 15 ministers had agreed to accompany Raisani. Umrani went on to add that Raisani no longer enjoyed the confidence of a simple majority of the Balochistan Assembly.

Pointing out that Raisani had already had a chance to appear before the apex court, Umrani said that on Friday it was the federal government that would have to explain the status of the Balochistan government.  “You will see (today) that Raisani and his cabinet would be sent home after the hearing,” he claimed.

Umrani said that Raisani and his cabinet has already been sacked by the Supreme Court. Legally and constitutionally, Raisani is no longer the chief minister of the province, he said.

Any attempt on his part to convene a provincial assembly session would be considered contempt of court, he said.

According to Jan Muhammad Jamali, the former deputy chairman of Senate, and an influential figure in Balochistan, the provincial government has become a tottering structure that could collapse any time. “It is now entirely at the mercy of the Supreme Court,” he added.

Commenting on the refusal of the speaker to summon an assembly session, Jamili said that the chief minister in a desperate move to save his government would attempt to remove Bhootani. However, he said, it was too late – and that many in the cabinet were now vying for chief ministership and would not back Raisani. Jamali believed that Raisani was already prepared to be sent packing as he had not yet challenged the SC’s interim order. However, a top official of the provincial government said that the chief minister has already hired the services of Advocate Shahid Hamid to file a review petition today before the Supreme Court.

Few leaders of the PPP in Balochistan predicted that federal government would place the province under the governor’s rule for a brief period if the Supreme Court sent Raisani home.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2012.