Eyes on Sherani initiative: Governor Magsi delays cabinet plan

Raisani hands his resignation to JUI-F’s Balochistan chief.

ISLAMABAD:

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfikar Magsi has delayed his plans to form a small cabinet as calls for the restoration of the provincial government rise to a crescendo. The Shia Hazara community, however, says it will fight the move tooth and nail.

Governor Magsi has drawn the ire of lawmakers in the provincial assembly sessions following the sacking of chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and his “jumbo cabinet” by President Asif Zardari on January 13. Governor Magsi was subsequently asked to form a small cabinet to assist him in administrative affairs.

“The governor has no plans, at least for now, to form a cabinet or an advisory council,” a top provincial official told The Express Tribune. “The governor decided to delay the formation of an advisory council following a move by some partners in the erstwhile ruling coalition to cobble together a new government in the province,” he added.

Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, provincial chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman), has been spearheading efforts for bringing back the representative government in Balochistan. He has devised a “formula” for this purpose.  He has met with leaders from parties which were part of the Raisani-led administration to sell his formula.

Aurangzeb Khan Kasi, chief of the Balochistan chapter of Awami National Party, said on Monday that a new government would be cobbled together “within few days”.

Presidential spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar also confirmed that Maulana Sherani has shared his formula with the government. According to the formula, Raisani would voluntarily resign and the legislature will elect a new leader of the house.



Sources said Raisani has already stepped down. “He [Raisani] has handed his resignation to Maulana Sherani and Balochistan National Party-Awami politician Syed Ehsan Shah,” a source told The Express Tribune. “Maulana Sherani showed the resignation to top political leaders in their meetings last week.

“In keeping with the democratic spirit, Governor Magsi has decided to wait for the outcome of these efforts [for the restoration of the government],” the official said.

However, the move will have a severe backlash from the Shia Hazara community.

Balochistan was put under governor’s rule following a four-day-long protest vigil against a vicious double bombing that killed over 100 people, mostly Hazaras.

Four Quetta-based leading representative organisations of the Shia community – Hazara Democratic Movement, Wahdatul Muslimeen, Milli Yekjehti Council and Shia Council -- have already warned of agitation. “A new government with or without Aslam Raisani will not be acceptable,” reads one press statement.

Sardar Saadat Ali Hazara, chief of the Haszara tribe and chairman of Milli Yekjehti Council, Haji Abdul Qayyum Changezi, president of the Shia Council, Muhammad Hashim Mosvi, provincial president of Wahdatul Muslimeen, and Abdul Khaliq Hazara, president of the Hazara Democratic Movement, said in their press statements that they would march on Islamabad if the provincial government was restored.

Intelligence agencies have also warned the government against the move. “Restoration of the government could have a countrywide negative reaction from political parties and Shia organisations,” a home department official told The Express Tribune quoting from a warning of intelligence agencies.

He added that law enforces have successfully stemmed the tide of violence following the imposition of governor’s rule in the province which has observed a marked decrease in incidents of targeted killings, bomb blasts and suicide attacks.

In the absence of a government, formation of an interim government in the province would not be possible, according to constitutional experts. Constitutionally, a caretaker chief minister has to be picked by the chief minister in consultation with the opposition leader. (With additional reporting by Mohammed Zafar in Quetta)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2013.