Jam Kamal steps down,
2-month political crisis
in Balochistan now over

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QUETTA: The two-month-long political crisis being faced by Balochistan came to end on Sunday evening when Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) tendered his resignation.

Governor Syed Zahoor Ahemd Agha accepted the resignation soon after Mr Alyani sent it to him. Consequently, the provincial cabinet stands dissolved.

The former CM in his written resignation said: “I, Jam Kamal Khan, under Article 130 (8) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereby resign from the office of the Chief Minister of Balochistan today the 24th October.”

Jam Kamal Khan Aliani

The late-evening development came after two marathon sessions of negotiations that Mr Alyani held with Senate Chairman Mir Sadiq Sanjrani and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak.

According to sources, Mr Sanjrani and Mr Khattak informed Mr Alyani about the number of MPAs who supported the rival group. Mr Alyani, however, agreed to step down only after he got assurance over some conditions, which include adjusting some ministers of his cabinet in the next government. They also contacted the leaders of the angry MPAs during the marathon meetings.

A session of the Balochistan Assembly had been convened for Monday (today) for voting on the no-trust motion against the then chief minister Alyani. The motion, which was tabled in the 65-member house on Oct 20 by the angry group of BAP lawmakers, was supported by 34 members including those belonging to the opposition.

QUETTA: Jam Kamal Khan Aliani talking to MPA Asghar Khan Achakzai during Assembly session on Wednesday.

The members while speaking on the motion had asked then CM Alyani to resign for it was the only honourable way to avoid the no-confidence motion. However, Mr Alyani had turned down the request of the opponents and announced that he would face the no-trust motion and would not resign even if two members remained with him.

Mr Alyani is the fourth chief minister who has resigned to avoid a no-trust motion.

The no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has received the support of the required members and 33 members have supported the resolution. File Photo: Radio Pakistan

QUETTTA: BAP Spokesman Abdul Rehman Khetran MPA presenting the no-confidence motion against Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Aliani on Wednesday.

The plight of Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has been further aggravated and a no-confidence motion has been moved in the Balochistan Assembly against the Chief Minister.

A no-confidence motion was moved against the Chief Minister in the Balochistan Assembly session.

The no-confidence motion was moved by Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and the Speaker said that the no-confidence motion has got the support of the required members and 33 members have supported the resolution.

QUETTA: Members of Balochistan Assembly stand their seats after presenting the no-confidence motion against Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Aliani on Wednesday.

Balochistan Awami Party spokesman Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran while addressing the assembly said that this is the house of 65, Jam Kamal Khan is a respected person for us, he is the chief of a tribe, he was also elected as the leader of the house by majority. It was done and even today this resolution has been passed by a majority vote and this House has decided even though our members of the Assembly have come to the Missing Persons.

He said that no one can stay in power by strangling anyone, it is not the tradition of Balochistan to abduct and trample on the sanctity of the House, no one will be allowed to do so.

Sardar Abdul Rehman demanded the recovery of missing persons and said that if the missing persons were not recovered then this House and the whole of Balochistan would protest. We do not want to go to this level, every institution is reliable for us.

He said that when the confidence of one person in the House has gone up, it would be better for Jam Kamal Khan to resign, there is no point in clinging to power, today five are missing, tomorrow five more will go missing, maybe His seat will be saved but this House will not function now.

He said that ethics and tradition of Balochistan demanded immediate resignation of Jam Kamal Khan as we do not want to write in history that he was removed from the post of Chief Minister.

On the occasion, Leader of the Opposition Malik Sikandar Advocate in his address to the House protested against the disappearance of five members of the Provincial Assembly and said that the House would not function in this way and in this way all those who are exercising their constitutional and democratic right today. They can be arrested.

Crisis situation in Balochistan

Signs of the ongoing political crisis in Balochistan first surfaced in June this year when opposition members protested outside the provincial assembly building for several days against Jam Kamal Khan Aliani’s provincial government as the provincial government cut his budget. He had refused to allocate development funds for the constituencies.

This protest was controversy and later the police had registered a case against 17 members of the opposition opposition.

After that, 16 members of the opposition assembly had filed a no-confidence motion against the chief minister, but the governor’s house secretariat withdrew the motion to the Balochistan assembly due to technical reasons.

Earlier this month, a no-confidence motion with the signatures of 14 assembly members was tabled in the Balochistan Assembly Secretariat as Aliani faced constant criticism from angry members of his party who believed that the chief minister was trying to run the government. Do not consult

The chief minister had also resigned as president of the Balochistan Awami Party, but later withdrew his resignation.