'Opp in Balochistan sniffs victory in SC verdict'

Political observers say 'strategically-timed' no-confidence motion emboldened by SC verdict

QUETTA:

Balochistan is likely to experience another political experiment in the wake of a no-confidence motion submitted against Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo.

The scenario has cast the province back to a familiar state of affairs as hardly seven months have passed since Bizenjo took over as chief executive of the province after his predecessor, Jam Kamal Khan, was removed through a similar procedure.

The no-confidence motion against the CM was signed by 14 lawmakers from the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party (ANP).

However, for the election of the leader of the house, the movers of the no-confidence motion require 33 votes. Nonetheless, ex-CM Jam Kamal Khan appeared sanguine about the prospects of removing the incumbent chief minister through the majority vote.

Although the development has only received a scarce attention from the mainstream national media, track records have shown that such moves have far-reaching political impacts on the national level.

For instance, the incumbent chief minister Bizenjo submitted a no-confidence motion against Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, the then Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief minister in 2018.

And subsequently, overnight, the BAP was formed and the removal of Nawab Zehri had a strong impact on the then ruling party, PML-N.

Similarly, there's little doubting that the abrupt decision to muscle out Bizenjo through a no-trust vote is devoid of political weightage.

Analysts believe that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on a presidential reference seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A, related to the disqualification of lawmakers over defection, has empowered the party heads while bounding the lawmakers are bound to toe their party lines.

Jam Kamal is the head of the ruling BAP and Bizenjo is the parliamentary leader in Balochistan Assembly. Both have had some personal grudges since the establishment of the BAP.

BAP is not an ideological party. It comprises influential political and tribal electables. They have been part and parcel of almost all successive governments. The party's chain of command is weak. This gives an opportunity to the component parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) including Jamiat ul Ulema e Islam (JUI) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) to exercise their political strength to gain maximum political benefits.

The two parties had supported a no-confidence motion against Jam Kamal and enjoyed cordial relations with Quddus Bizenjo. The success and failure of the no-confidence motion depend on their decision.

If the two parties with 21 members in the house of 65 announced to support the no-confidence, then, Quddus Bizenjo can easily be removed. Otherwise, if they kept continued support of Mr Bizenjo, then, it would be very difficult for Jam Kamal to remove Mr Bizenjo and take revenge on him. JUI F and BNP Mengal are preparing to get lion's share in the fast-approaching provincial budget.

Bizenjo has already allocated Rs30bn for the constituencies of opposition members after assuming the charge. This was one of the main reasons that former senior minister Mir Zahoor Buledi staged a walkout from the cabinet session and finally, he was sacked by Bizenjo.

Political observers also note that this no-confidence motion may be to get a due share in the forthcoming budget rather than removing Bizenjo.

Although, Jam Kamal revealed that they also enjoy the support of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari.