ISLAMABAD: The Lower House of the parliament on Friday paid rich tributes to late Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo - a forever defiant ex-senator from Balochistan - who breathed his last at a local hospital in Karachi on Thursday. The lawmakers belonging to both treasury and opposition were unanimous in acknowledging that his struggle for rule of law and civilian supremacy was second to none, as he kept struggling all his life to see a democratic Pakistan.
Expressing grief and sorrow over his death, they said his death is a big loss to Pakistan and Balochistan. They said Bizenjo was a seasoned politician and a national leader whose services would always be remembered. The lawmakers said that Bizenjo was a patriotic Pakistani who always spoke about the rights of the smaller provinces.
They suggested that a gallery should be designated in the parliament house to recognise the services of leaders such as Bizenjo. The firebrand Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Khawaja Asif paid tribute to the principled politics of Bizenjo, telling the NA speaker to obtain the lower house's consent to postpone the session in light of the politician's passing.
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said everybody accepted the democratic struggle of Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo. She said his persona was also democratic and he used to raise his voice in a very dignified and democratic manner.
Mazari said Bizenjo was a strong voice for the rights of Balochistan and he had left behind a vacuum. The speaker said that Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo was a major political figure who made immense contributions to the politics of the country.
Pashtoon Tahafuz Movement (PTM) MNA Moshin Dawar said it was very difficult to fill the void left by Bizenjo's death. "I think this session [of the National Assembly] should be postponed to honour his memory," he said, describing it as a "huge loss" for the country.
"The lot of politicians that he belonged to are decreasing day by day in Pakistan," he said. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Ramesh Kumar said that he had known the late politician for the past 20-22 years as a friend. "Ever since I stepped into politics, I was his friend," he said.
"Even till this day, I remember the things that he talked about with me," Kumar added. He paid tribute to Bizenjo, stating that those who did good deeds, their names remain alive long after they were gone.
Others who paid tributes to the struggle of Hasil Khan Bizenjo for democracy included Aslam Bhutani, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Ghous Bux Mehr, Shakoor Shad, Shehryar Khan Afridi, Agha Hassan Baloch, Qaim Khani, Qasim Khani, and Sabir Hussain Kaimkhani.
At the outset, the house offered fateha for National Party Chief Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo. Later, the chair adjourned the proceedings of the house till Monday 4pm without taking up the agenda of the day in respect and memory of Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo.
Born in 1958 into a family that played a crucial role in Balochistan's political landscape, Senator Bizenjo entered politics when he joined the Pakistan National Party (PNP). His father, Mir Ghous Baksh Bizenjo, was once the province's governor and struggled for the rights of the Baloch people.
The senator, throughout his political career, spoke for the Baloch people's rights but categorically opposed armed resistance and militancy, choosing peaceful ways instead. He also spoke in favour of a quick repatriation of the Afghan refugees, given that the situation in their home country had stabilised considerably.
A respected figure in Pakistani politics, he was elected a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) twice in the general elections of 1990 and 1997. He founded the Balochistan National Democratic Party (BNDP), which eventually merged with the Balochistan National Movement (BNM) in 2003, becoming the National Party (NP).
Interestingly, although his party boycotted the 2008 general elections in protest over the Balochistan situation, he was elected a senator in 2009. Bizenjo became the NP's president in 2014 after the party came into the national spotlight with the PML-N's help.
His party faced considerable competition from the BAP, the ANP, and the PPP. The senator was again elected on the position in the 2013 general elections, with his party bagging 11 seats in the provincial assembly, and one seat in the National Assembly.
Subsequently, during caretaker prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's tenure, he served as Federal Minister of Maritime Affairs, from August 2017 to May 2018. He did not contest the 2018 general elections. Back in July 2019, when a no-confidence resolution was submitted against Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani, nine political parties of the Opposition-led Rahbar Committee had named Bizenjo as the joint candidate for the post.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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