Balochistan’s political crisis: Raisani manages to convene assembly, cabinet
After the Balochistan government’s future was thrown into uncertainty following the Supreme Court’s interim order on the Balochistan law and order case, some stability, for now at least, may be in sight.
But all may not quite be well for under-fire Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani.
The chief minister managed on Saturday to convene a provincial assembly session in Quetta for November 6, according to an official source.
On Thursday, the provincial assembly speaker had reportedly declined to do so.
In addition, the federal government has also decided to step in and help Raisani’s floundering provincial administration – Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is to undertake a tour of Balochistan on November 9, the source said.
The premier will address another initiative taken by the chief minister – a cabinet meeting being held in Gwadar on November 9. Some federal ministers and civil and military officials are also expected to attend.
Ashraf will join Raisani in his efforts to steer his government out of the political and constitutional crisis that it has been facing after the apex court, provincial assembly speaker, the PPP Balochistan chapter president, and a few provincial ministers publicly challenged the constitutional worth of the chief minister, the source added.
According to the official, the prime minister has decided to arrange a rapprochement between Raisani and his rivals in the provincial cabinet in this regard.
Meanwhile, a close aide to the chief minister came to his defence, saying, “The prime minister’s visit to Balochistan will be highly significant as it will deliver a clear message to those forces who considered the federal government and the top PPP leadership to have abandoned the Raisani government.”
He admitted, however, that the chief minister had lost the blessing of the federal government over the last few weeks on issues relating to governance.
On the other hand, according to the anti-Raisani lobby, the prime minister, during his meeting with the cabinet members in Gwadar, would assess whether Raisani still held command over the provincial government.
If the premier is not convinced, the chief minister would be asked to go abroad on long leave on the pretext of medical treatment, claimed one of Raisani’s political rivals in the provincial cabinet, requesting anonymity.
Senior minister Maulana Abdul Wasey of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) would run the government in the absence of the chief minister till a final solution of the crisis is reached, he further claimed.
It was asserted that the federal government has been warned by the security agencies that separatist elements in the province were being encouraged due to the ongoing political and constitutional chaos.
Political issues aside, the law and order situation is also to come under discussion at the meeting, with a special reference to the apex court judgment, which pinned the blame on the provincial government.
Meanwhile, scrambling to carry out damage control, the federal government has asked the provincial government to chalk out a comprehensive plan to implement the orders of Supreme Court, particularly with regard to missing persons in the province .
The prime minister has directed the chief minister to make significant improvements in his administrative setup to ensure good governance.
According to sources familiar with the development, the prime minister has been directed by the president to console anti-Raisani elements – not only for the survival of the PPP-led provincial coalition government but also to address critical law and order issues.
The sources said that the chief of the JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, played a key role in winning over the federal government’s and PPP’s top leadership’s support for Raisani.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2012.
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