No CM completes tenure in Balochistan
Syed Ali Shah :
QUETTA: In Balochistan, except late Jam Muhammad Yousaf, no chief minister has completed his constitutional tenure. Since the 1970s, when Balochistan got provincial status, all chief ministers were either overthrown or forced to resign from their positions.
The province’s first elected chief minister, Sardar Attaullah Mengal’s government was dismissed by the then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Late Sardar Mengal remained CM of Balochistan for eight months in 1972.
Taj Muhammad Jamali also resigned as CM Balochistan in 1992 to avoid a no-confidence motion by his own political colleagues. Lawmakers had announced to bring a no-confidence motion against him. Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi was elected as the CM.
In 1998, Akhtar Mengal was removed as CM
In 1998, all of a sudden, differences erupted within the then ruling party i.e. Balochistan National Party (BNP) against Chief Minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal. Subsequently, Sardar Akhtar Mengal was removed and replaced by Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister of the country when Akhtar Mengal was removed.
Balochistan National Party (Awami) was formed soon after the removal of Sardar Akhtar Mengal.
On January 13, 2013, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani’s government was removed by his own Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government. The ethnic Shia Hazara community staged a sit-in against the deadly suicide bombing on January 10, 2013, in Quetta’s Alamdar road.
Former Prime Minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf visited Quetta and sacked the government of Nawab Raisani. Governor rule was imposed. Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi was the Governor at that time.
Nawab Zehri resigned as CM on January 9, 2013
On January 9, 2018, Nawab Sanaullah resigned as Chief Minister Balochistan after all Pakistan Muslim League (N) legislators abandoned him. Qudoos Bizenjo was elected as the new CM of Balochistan. Zehri was enjoying the support of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) and National Party (NP).
In the 2018 general elections, the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) had emerged as the single largest parliamentary group. Jam Kamal Khan was elected as the Chief Minister of Balochistan.
Jam ruled over the province smoothly for almost three years. However, serious differences surfaced within the ruling BAP on September 16, when the opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against Jam Kamal. The BAP’s angry members demanded of the incumbent CM to step down in a respectable way and avoid any humiliation.
Today (October 20th), 14-angry members of the ruling BAP, BNP (A), and PTI are going to submit a no-confidence motion against Jam Kamal.
Since the 1970s, no single party has established a government in Balochistan. There have always been coalition governments in Balochistan. Chief Minister has always been weak and dependant on various personalities and political parties to maintain his position.
