With four minutes from start to end, the Balochistan Assembly (BA) witnessed one of its shortest sessions on Monday, as Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik did not appear before the House to brief the members on the security situation in the province. The session was convened by the governor on the request of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani to review law and order situation in the province. Malik was scheduled to attend the session to brief the members on law and order situation in the province, but failed to attend because of some other engagement. The session started on its scheduled time but was postponed until Tuesday (today) after four minutes because of Malik’s absence. Earlier on Saturday, Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhotani refused to preside over the session of the provincial assembly. While talking to media in Quetta, Bhotani said he stood firm on his point of view and would not chair the session until the assembly’s legal status is not cleared by the Supreme Court. “It was my stance from day one that I will not chair any session till the constitutional position of the provincial government and assembly is not cleared after the interim orders of the Supreme Court,” he said. After the Supreme Court’s interim order, the Balochistan governor cannot convene the assembly session on the chief minister’s advice, he added.
