Pakistan

No-trust motion tabled against Balochistan CM

Move backed by 33 of 65 members of provincial assembly

Our Correspodent October 20, 2021

QUETTA:

The disgruntled members of the Balochistan Assembly on Wednesday tabled a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan.

The motion, backed by 33 of the 65 provincial assembly members, was moved by Food Minister and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Abdul Rehman Khetran.

The text of the resolution read that unrest and unemployment had risen due to the poor governance of the chief minister. It added that Kamal was running the affairs of the province as if he was the “only wise person” in the government.

It said the performance of the institutions was negatively affected because the chief minister was not consulting with them and therefore he should be removed.

Speaking on the occasion, Khetran said five of their members had gone "missing", fearing that five more would also go missing in the next few days in a bid to fail the movement.

However, he added, that the House could not function under such circumstances, advising Kamal to step down immediately.

Opposition leader Malik Sikander Khan said the chief executive of the province was someone who worked tirelessly for the welfare of the people.

"The responsibilities also include reassuring the people that he is at the frontline in tackling the issues they are facing," he added.

The opposition leader said that the chief minister was also responsible for using the province's funds on the people, and putting an end to corruption.

Sikander maintained that the people of the province did not have access to clean water or enough of it to grow their crops.

He added that people were facing a shortage of gas in certain areas during the winter.

The opposition leader maintained that the people's lives and property were not safe and citizens had to protest with the dead bodies of their loved ones outside the CM House.

Speaking to the media ahead of the provincial assembly session, CM Kamal said the voting on the motion would reveal the "true reality".

Alhamdulillah I dont care two bits on oppositions motion of no confidence.

For me its important if my own party and coalition are with me. The day i dont have my own party and coalition majority...Then for me being the leader of the house is of no use and will leave myself. pic.twitter.com/1Sj7QXp3qo
— Jam Kamal Khan (@jam_kamal) September 14, 2021

"I have been saying from day one that our allies stand with us."
He pointed out that it would have made more sense if the no-confidence motion came from the opposition.

“The opposition was trying to spread disunity among the treasury lawmakers. This is for the first time that the opposition is doing politics on the basis of treasury lawmakers.”

The CM noted that the speaker must summon the session between three and seven days after the motion had been tabled.

As per the Constitution, a no-trust motion needed the signatures of 20% of the make-up of the legislature to be tabled for discussion and half the members must vote in favour of it to be passed.
CM Kamal has remained undeterred in the face of pressure exerted by the disgruntled MPs, seeking his resignation.

Also read: Kamal claims of wooing 6 disgruntled BAP MPAs

The angry lawmakers had given the chief minister a deadline to step down in a “dignified” manner, warning that otherwise, they would move a no-confidence motion against him.

However, the deadline ended without any breakthrough and with Kamal doubling down on his insistence that he enjoyed majority. He reiterated that he would not yield to blackmail by the angry group, warning that a change on the “whims of a few elements” would harm both the government and the opposition.

The opposition had also filed a no-trust motion last month which the assembly secretariat had sent to the governor for convening an assembly session. However, the chief minister survived after the Governor House returned the opposition’s no-confidence motion to the secretariat on technical grounds.