Our Correspondent Quetta
Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo on Monday stepped down from his office and submitted his resignation to the assembly secretariat.
Bizenjo’s resignation comes a day after embattled chief minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani tendered his resignation, ending a two-month-long political crisis that started with the ex-CM’s refusal to grant development funds to legislators followed by agitation from the latter.
The resignation was subsequently accepted by Governor Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha.
The opposition has tipped Bizenjo, the leader of BAP, as the next chief executive of the province.
Speaking in the assembly, opposition MPA Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran said Bizenjo will be the leader of the House in days to come.
“I had already said that I would not rest until the removal of Kamal as the chief minister,” he told the provincial legislature. He also claimed that he was offered Rs200 million for giving up on the demand, adding that “I was threatened with dire consequences after I rejected the offer.” An attempt was made to block a democratic motion through an undemocratic tactic, he said, while referring to the no-confidence motion. He told the House that “the dark era has passed and we will create a new system for the development of Balochistan.”
Khetran later withdrew his motion after the speaker informed the session that the chief minister had resigned from his office under Article 130 (8) of the Constitution.
Chairing the assembly session earlier, Bizenjo said the House condemned the disappearance of four MPAs including three women legislators last week.
Meanwhile, speaking to media outside the assembly, MPA Saleh Sardar Bhootani said a few names were under consideration for nomination to the chief minister’s post.
He stressed that consultation on the matter was important with allied parties and not just a single political party. Bhootani said his party would strive to make the change visible for which all endeavours were being made.
Last week, opposition members had claimed that three lady and one male MPAs had gone missing because they had signed the no-confidence motion against Jam Kamal.
They later surfaced in Islamabad, claiming there had been no foul play. The MPAs, Akbar Askani, Bushra Rind, Laila Tareen and Mahjabeen Sheran, returned to Quetta in the official plane of the Balochistan government.
