PkMAP’s Ziaratwal new opposition leader of Balochistan Assembly

Provincial government appoints Rauf Ata Advocate as new advocate general

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday issued a notification appointing Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party’s (PkMAP) Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal as the new opposition leader.

According to the notification, Ziaratwal with 23 votes of confidence replaced Maulana Abdul Wasey of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who had 12 votes of confidence.



Balochistan Assembly Speaker Rahila Hameed Khan Durrani declared Ziaratwal as the new leader of opposition, the notification read.

The development comes following change in political leadership of the province starting with Abdul Quddus Bizenjo replacing Sanaullah Zehri as the chief minister of Balochistan on January 13, 2018.

The JUI-F was also part of the no-confidence motion against former CM Zehri, who resigned before it could be tabled in the Balochistan Assembly.

On Wednesday, Amanullah Kanrani, who was appointed by former chief minister Zehri as the advocate general, had resigned following his run for the post of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president in elections scheduled for October this year.



“I cannot go for the SCBA presidency without an active campaign,” Kanrani had said, adding that he would no longer be serving as provincial government’s representative after the bar elections.

The provincial government on Thursday appointed JUI-F’s Rauf Ata Advocate as the new advocate general for Balochistan.