PML-Q’s Quddus Bizenjo nominated for Balochistan CMship

QUETTA: Parliamentary parties in Balochistan Assembly on Thursday nominated former Balochistan Assembly deputy speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo as the new chief minister of the province.

The lawmakers reached a consensus over the nomination of a new CM days after Nawab Sanaullah Zehri resigned in the wake of a no-trust move against him. Subsequently, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader Bizenjo had withdrawn his no-confidence motion on Tuesday, moments after the then-CM Zehri caved in.

Speaking to reporters, Bizenjo expressed hope that he will come up to the expectations of the parties who have expressed their confidence in him.

“I will reach out to all political parties, including Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and National Party (NP) for parliamentary consultation and we will try to resolve issues in the province by keeping everyone together,” Bizenjo told reporters.

Following Zehri’s ouster on Tuesday, Pakistan Today had published a report regarding the nomination of the next Balochistan CM. One of the three candidates mentioned in the report was PML-Q’s Bizenjo.

A source had told the publication that consultations were on and a few names were being discussed. The lawmaker informed that Mohammad Saleh Bhotani, Jan Mohammad Jamali and Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo were potential names for the top provincial slot.

Nomination papers for the post of chief minister would be submitted to the provincial assembly on Friday morning and it is expected that Bizenjo will be elected on Saturday.

“With the support of like-minded legislators, Bizenjo will be easily elected as the new chief minister,” Dawn quoted former senator Saeed Ahmed Hashmi as saying.

Former chief minister Sardar Jan Jamali also expressed hope that Bizenjo would be elected unopposed in his brief talk, but said the group was ready to compete if it came to that.

Meanwhile, PML-Q President and former interim prime minister Ch Shujat Hussain, senior party leader and former deputy prime minister Ch Parvez Elahi expressed gratitude on the nomination of party MPA Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo as the joint candidate for the office of chief minister.

The PML-Q leaders described the nomination of Bizenjo as a positive development for national politics in a joint statement issued Thursday.

Expressing confidence in Bizenjo, they said: “He [Bizenjo] will render better service to the people of the province without discrimination, will take all the assembly members along so that problems of the province are solved collectively.”

They went on to say that Bizenjo will work for putting the province on the path so that best facilities of education and health become available to the people, their deprivations are eliminated and their relation and love with Pakistan is further strengthened.