Balochistan government
As the single party with most seats, the PkMAP has every right to be given a chance to form government.
The party with the most seats in a particular provincial assembly should be given the first chance to form the government there. PHOTO: NNI
With the polls in Balochistan once more producing a mixed result, the tussle for government formation is well and truly on in that province. We must hope things do not take an ugly turn, and this is possible only if principle is strictly followed. The PML-N chief, Mian Nawaz Sharif, has already clearly defined what that principle is: the party with the most seats in a particular provincial assembly should be given the first chance to form the government there. This rule has been followed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where Imran Khan’s PTI is busy in government formation.
However, as yet it is not clear whether these rules will also apply for Balochistan. Here, the PML-N, with nine seats out of the 51 up for contest, had opted to form a government led by itself, with provincial party chief Sanaullah Zehri saying the PML-N was the largest parliamentary group in the province. Unable to form a government on its own, the PML-N had sought an alliance with Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s Pakhtukhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), a pre-dominantly Pashtun party with liberal leanings. However, with the PkMAP’s share of seats having risen to 10, the group has claimed the right to form the government in Quetta, possibly in alliance with the National Party, which has seven seats. Other groups in what is once more a fractured assembly, can presumably be approached too. However, Mr Zehri and the PML-N insist that with at least one and possibly other independents set to join it, it can stake claim as the party which holds the right to form government.
All this is, to say the least, unfortunate. As the single party with most seats, the PkMAP has every right to be given a chance to form government. This is clearly laid out under the Eighteenth Amendment. Attempting to play the game of independents and win over their support is not wise at this point. For the sake of Balochistan, the mandate of its people must be respected, so that there can be some hope of stability in a highly troubled province, where further rift or political controversy needs to be strictly avoided at all costs.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.
However, as yet it is not clear whether these rules will also apply for Balochistan. Here, the PML-N, with nine seats out of the 51 up for contest, had opted to form a government led by itself, with provincial party chief Sanaullah Zehri saying the PML-N was the largest parliamentary group in the province. Unable to form a government on its own, the PML-N had sought an alliance with Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s Pakhtukhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), a pre-dominantly Pashtun party with liberal leanings. However, with the PkMAP’s share of seats having risen to 10, the group has claimed the right to form the government in Quetta, possibly in alliance with the National Party, which has seven seats. Other groups in what is once more a fractured assembly, can presumably be approached too. However, Mr Zehri and the PML-N insist that with at least one and possibly other independents set to join it, it can stake claim as the party which holds the right to form government.
All this is, to say the least, unfortunate. As the single party with most seats, the PkMAP has every right to be given a chance to form government. This is clearly laid out under the Eighteenth Amendment. Attempting to play the game of independents and win over their support is not wise at this point. For the sake of Balochistan, the mandate of its people must be respected, so that there can be some hope of stability in a highly troubled province, where further rift or political controversy needs to be strictly avoided at all costs.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.