The cardinal reason behind the no-confidence motion against Balochistan chief minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri is autocratic style of governance of Zehri and preponderant influence of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the two close confidantes of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, informed sources told Business Recorder.
In a dramatic twist months before the general elections, 14 members of the Balochistan Assembly belonging to opposition and the ruling coalition moved a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri on Tuesday, who subsequently fired a minister and a special assistant for supporting the motion while some other cabinet members have resigned.
The coalition government in Balochistan consists of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, PkMAP and National Party (NP). Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) holds eight seats with only 12 members' part of the opposition. Sources privy to the development told Business Recorder that lawmakers belonging to both opposition and treasury benches were compelled to move the no-confidence motion against Zehri as he heeds the advice of Achakzai alone while making key appointments and their requests have been consistently ignored.
"The chief minister [Zehri] on the advice of Mehmood Khan Achakzai is running the show while the rest of the legislators have no say in the governance of the province which is simply not acceptable," said a senior member of ruling PML-N from Balochistan on condition of anonymity.
Nawaz Sharif had been overly supportive of Achakzai during his third term as Prime Minister while Balochistan is being run the way Achakzai wants, he said. Subsequent to the resignation of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) deputy speaker, Achakzai is insisting to appoint his man as deputy speaker and Nawaz Shairf has reportedly accepted this, the PML-N lawmaker contended.
Senator Kamil Ali Agha, a central leader of PML-Q, said that the provincial leadership did take the central leadership into confidence before bringing the no-confidence motion against the chief minister. He said that according to his party's MPAs, the motion has the support of over 40 MPAs in the 65-member provincial assembly. Prior to the no-confidence motion, 53 MPAs were part of the government.
The crisis in Balochistan deepened on Friday as two more ministers - Rahat Jamali and a newly-appointed adviser to chief minister Abdul Majid Abro - tendered their resignations and joined those supporting the no-confidence motion. Ironically, Zehri had appointed Abdul Majid Abro as adviser for Excise and Taxation just two days before with a clear intention to strengthen his position against the no-confidence motion.
Nawab Zehri's favourite and most trusted aide, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, resigned as Home Minister after former deputy speaker Abdul Qudus Bizenjo submitted a no-confidence motion against the chief minister on January 2.
This was followed by Mir Chakar Domki, Prince Ahmed Ali, and other PML-N members who also tendered their resignations and announced their support for the no-confidence motion. Senior PML-N leadership is claiming that the no-confidence move is an attempt to sabotage the scheduled Senate elections in March.
Attempts to contact former Deputy Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo at the number available on the Balochistan provincial assembly website failed because it was picked up by one Waheed Ahmed from Khanewal, who claimed that he has constantly been receiving phone calls from several military personnel since the issue of no-confidence began.
"I have been getting calls from unknown numbers - sometimes there is a brigadier who wants to talk and sometimes there is a lieutenant and they ask for Abdul Quddus Bizenjo," he stated.
He said he approached the Mobilink franchise to stop the calls as this is his personal number and he has been using it for quite a long while but to no avail. When contacted, a military spokesman who declined to be named rubbished the claims that the military is behind the Balochistan crisis saying that the no-confidence motion against the chief minister has 'absolutely nothing to do with the military.'