Disgruntled Baloch MPs give CM Jam Kamal 24 hours to quit

Provincial minister says Kamal should step down in ‘dignified’ manner

QUETTA:

The disgruntled ministers of the Balochistan government and members of the provincial assembly on Tuesday gave a 24-hour deadline -- up till 5pm on Wednesday (tomorrow) -- to Chief Minister Jam Kamal to step down in a “dignified” manner, warning that otherwise they would move a no-confidence motion against him.

"Jam Kamal continued to run all affairs [of the province] personally but now he has lost the numerical majority along with the moral support of students, doctors, landlords, labourers, teachers and the bureaucracy,” Provincial Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi said at a news conference at the Balochistan Assembly.

Buledi was accompanied by Provincial Food Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, CM's Adviser on Fisheries Akbar Askani, Adviser Muhammad Khan Lehri, Sikandar Umrani, Lala Rashid Baloch and Mah Jabeen Sheeran Bushra Rind– all of them belonging to the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP); Minister Asadullah Baloch of the Balochistan National Party-Awami; Laila Tareen of the Awami National Party (ANP); and PTI’s Naseebullah Marri.

“The whole of Balochistan should not be sacrificed for the sake of one individual," Buledi added.

The provincial finance minister said the BAP currently had two factions -- of which 11 members including Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Sardar Saleh Bhootani were with them.

"Some members of the coalition parties have also expressed their lack of trust in the chief minister.”

Also read: Sanjrani wins back disgruntled Baloch MPAs

The minister added that the reason for this lack of confidence was the growing political unrest in the province, bad governance and the freezing of development funds.

He said talks were held with the pro-CM members and they were given two weeks so that the chief minister would resign “with dignity” before they filed a no-trust motion against him.

"Instead of resigning, the chief minister tried to give the impression that the group of disgruntled members had split up.”

On the occasion, Khetran maintained that the chief minister only had the support of 13 or 14 of the 65 members of the assembly.

Provincial Social Welfare Minister Asadullah Baloch of the BNP-A said Kamal was repeatedly asked inside and outside the cabinet to run the government by taking everyone on board but he considered himself wise and continued to run all matters personally.

"We also asked him to reconsider his conduct," he added.

Asad said that the chief minister should resign instead of visiting the houses of angry members.

“If he does not resign by 5pm on October 6 (today), we will make a major announcement that might include a moving a no-confidence motion against him.”

PTI MPA Marri said his party was not an individual in Balochistan, but an ally of the BAP.

“Even after removing him [CM], we will continue supporting the BAP.”