PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and the high command of his party have decided to elect Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, President of the National Party (NP), as the Balochistan Chief Minister. Dr Baloch has been an MPA in the Balochistan Assembly thrice, and has also served as a senator for six years in Islamabad. He was a member of the cabinet in Nawab Akbar Bugti's cabinet and served as provincial education minister.
Baloch's name for the slot of chief minister has been proposed by Mehmood Achakzai, the chief of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). "We have decided in principle to support Dr Malik as the Chief Minister of Balochistan," PkMAP Central Secretary Akram Shah told Dawn.com. He said Achakzai had made it clear before PML-N leader and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif that PkMAP was backing Dr Baloch as the chief executive of the province. NP and PkMAP enjoy the support of 18 members in 51 general assembly seats. With the support of PML-N, which has 14 members, Dr Malik can easily be elected as the leader of the house.