PPP revels amid seismic political shift in Balochistan

JUI-F also vying for influence in mineral-rich province

QUETTA:

 

“Winds of change are blowing in Balochistan” is a commonly held notion these days, after three MPAs of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) parted ways with the ruling party in the province and joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) recently.

The switching of loyalties normally takes place as electables expect to get higher portfolios and positions as the general elections approach near.

Elections in Pakistan are scheduled to be held this year.

This time, the bent is towards the PPP, which has the support in some constituencies of Balochistan. The party had political roots in Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Makran, Lasbela, Quetta, and other parts of the province since its formation in the early 1970s by its founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Recently, in Karachi, three former provincial ministers from the ruling BAP, including Mir Zahoor Buledi, Saleem Khan Khoso, and Mir Arif Jan Muhammad Hassani, joined the PPP in the presence of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
BAP, which has ruled the province for the last more than four years, continues to lose its leaders and workers to rival political parties.

Although the party failed to win a single seat in 2018 general elections, political pundits believe the party may triumph in the upcoming general elections.

"The PPP seems to be in a better position after the joining of electables in Balochistan," senior journalist Muhammad Kazim Mengal said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Sources told this scribe that incumbent Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Quddus Bizenjo, who is also the president of BAP, is also in contact with Zardari.

It was further said that negotiations were under way between former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal Khan and the PPP leadership while Kamal was also “seriously considering” the option of joining the PML-N.

The PML-N seems to be a better option for Jam Kamal since he can easily emerge as the potential chief minister candidate from the party in Balochistan.

It may be mentioned that former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and General (retd) Qadir Baloch have already joined the PPP following their differences with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif after the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) intensified its campaign against the then ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Province’s influential – the Magsis and Bhootanis – also enjoy good relations with the PPP and a breakthrough is expected anytime soon.

The Jamiat-Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) – an ally of the PPP in the Centre –   also changed its strategy and started expanding its influence from Pashtoon-dominated areas to Baloch-majority areas in Balochistan.

The religious party has been part of successive governments from the 1970s to 2013. It remained an ally of former chief ministers including late Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali, Taj Jamali, late Jam Muhammad Yousaf and Nawab Aslam Raisani.

However, this time, the party changed its strategy and succeeded in getting the support of electables from the Baloch-majority areas of the province.

Former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, ex-home minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri, former provincial ministers Mir Amanullah Notezai and Ghulam Dastagir Badini had joined the JUI-F in the presence of party chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman.

The religious party is likely to be a major beneficiary of the recent divide in the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).

The PkMAP was recently split after its sacked dissidents annou¬n¬ced a new faction at a news conference in Quetta and elected its leaders.

"I think JUI-F would be a major beneficiary of this infighting within PkMAP," Quetta-based senior journalist Shahid Rind predicted.

Rind maintained that the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and National Party's success in Jhalawan was also linked to their alliance with the religious parties in Jhalawan, especially Khuzdar.

Earlier, it was noted that the JUI-F would only demand ministries and attractive ministries in every coalition government as it had no candidate for the CM post.
Now the party is hoping to form next government in Balochistan.

Last year, PTI’s parliamentary leader in Balochistan Assembly Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind had also parted ways with the party.

Sources said that he is now in negotiations with various political parties for a better option.