A day after the Supreme Court questioned the constitutional authority of the Balochistan government, the speaker of the provincial assembly Aslam Botani has rejected a request by Chief Minister Aslam Raisani for summoning a session of the Balochistan Assembly.
Sources said that the speaker had decided to consult Governor Zulfiqar Magsi about the constitutional position of the chief minister.
The Chief Minister’s Secretariat had written a letter to the provincial assembly speaker on Wednesday requesting him to summon the assembly session on November 9 and 10 in Gwadar. However, after obtaining legal opinion from experts, the Speaker’s Secretariat rejected the request.
The sources said the speaker was of the opinion that after the Supreme Court’s interim order about law and order in Balochistan, the chief minister had lost his constitutional position and in this situation convening of the assembly session on the request of the chief minister would tantamount to contempt of court.
In another challenge to Raisani’s chief minister’s office, Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Balochistan President Sadiq Umrani accused Raisani of involvement in the kidnappings of doctors across the province. The allegation came as the PPP Kalat Division president, Rafique Sajjad suspended Raisani’s party membership for three months due to his “constant deviation from party’s policies”.
Speaking to media representatives in Quetta, Umrani said that the provincial government had failed to establish law and order in Balochistan. He said there had been a hike in the incidents of targeted killings and kidnapping for ransom in the province.
Umrani said that 18 activists of the PPP had been killed in Kalat during the past two years due to the CM’s negligence in delivering his duties.
Meanwhile, the PPP Kalat president said that Raisani was not spending enough time in Quetta and was damaging the party’s reputation. He said the party had sent him a show cause notice earlier but the CM did not mend his ways due to which his membership was being suspended for three months.
RAISANI RETALIATES: Responding to the scathing attacks by his party colleagues, Raisani said he would give Rs 10 as prize money to anyone who got his membership suspended from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the chief minister said no one could revoke his PPP membership.
On the order of the Supreme Court that the Balochistan government had lost its legitimacy, the chief minister said he was waiting for the detailed ruling of the court. “The situation in Balochistan is better than that in other provinces,” Raisani said. However, he declined to concede that his government had failed to improve law and order in Balochistan.
“We are taking an interest in the matters of the province, we are fulfilling our responsibilities,” he said.
He alluded to the remarks of the Balochistan Assembly’s only opposition member, Yar Mohammad Rind, saying he was an absconder and the Interior Ministry had failed to apprehend him. Without taking Rind’s name, Raisani said an absconder was being interviewed by the media. The chief minister said certain elements were propagandising against the Balochistan government. However, he said all decisions were being taken in the interest of the province.
He also announced that he would appear before the Supreme Court on Friday along with coalition partners in the Balochistan law and order case, adding that he would clarify his position on the case in front of the SC.
Raisani in hot water
