Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani on Saturday announced he would not preside over the forthcoming session to be held on Monday on grounds that a province whose constitutional status was in question could not call a session of the House.
In a continuation of the political turmoil in Balochistan, Bhootani maintained his earlier stance when he had refused to convene the assembly’s session on the chief minister’s request last month, following a Supreme Court (SC) order that termed the Balochistan government as unconstitutional for failing to fulfil its duties with regards to the law and order condition and establishment of the government’s writ.
Bhootani claimed that after the SC interim order, the provincial government had lost its legal status and therefore he could not call to session an assembly that was unconstitutional in nature. Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi took a medical leave following Bhootani’s initial refusal to convene a session which left no route for Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Nawab Aslam Raisani to call a session of the House in order.
Raisani, as a result, had to take a vote of confidence from the legislature to assert his legitimacy as chief minister of the province.
Talking to media in a function, Bhootani said he had taken a principled stance after the SC’s October 12 interim order on Balochistan that had asked the federal government to take appropriate constitutional measures for improvement of the law and order situation in the province. He said his refusal was a continuation of his earlier stance and it was the governor who had convened the session this time around, which the deputy speaker could moderate if he wanted to.
He further said he had no personal grudges against the chief minister and his cabinet members and if the government had any objections against his stance, it could seek the opinion of the apex court which declared that the government had failed in maintaining law and order in the province.
He said he would not budge an inch from his position under any circumstance, even if it led to his eventual removal as the speaker of the assembly.