BAP eyes K-P cabinet position

Info minister says no decision taken yet

PESHAWAR: As the provincial government gets ready to announce names of the two new cabinet members from the newly-merged tribal districts, it has emerged that the newest party to win seats in the province could throw a spanner in the works.

During the July 20 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly elections in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata), three of the independents who bagged seats decided to align with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). This made BAP the newest entrant into the provincial assembly. It also granted the BAP a reserved seat for women.

With the BAP already a coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the federal government, it is eyeing a similar arrangement in the province. And with it, a seat on the cabinet table.

Sources said that after it managed to woo three in­depen­dents, from the newly-merged tribal districts (NMTD), the party is ready to fully activate itself in the province.

However, BAP’s Parliamentary Leader Bilawal Afridi stated that they have yet to arrive at any decision on forming a coalition in the province.

Afridi, though, acknowledged that PTI remains their coalition partner in the federation, adding that any decision regarding the coalition will be taken by the senior leadership of their party.

Meanwhile, K-P Information Minister Shaukat Yousufzai stated that the PTI has yet to decide whether it wants to enter into a coalition with BAP in the province.

He went on to clarify that the government is mulling the inclusion of successful PTI members from the NMTDs into the provincial cabinet.

During the July 20 elections, the PTI had managed to secure five of the 16 general seats up for grabs. Later, as many as three independents decided to join it. This also gave the PTI two reserved seats for women and the solitary reserved seat for minorities in the NMTDs.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) also took three general seats and a reserved seat for women. The Awami National Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) secured a seat each.

Subsequently, K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had announced that they will induct two of their newly-elected members from the tribal areas into the provincial cabinet as part of their bid to grant greater representation to people from these areas. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2019.