No confidence motion tabled against Jam Kamal in Balochistan Assembly
Syed Ali Shah :
QUETTA: Angry members of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) tabled a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Wednesday. Amid uproar in the house, former food minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran tabled the motion.
A total of 33 lawmakers from the ruling BAP, Balochistan National Party (Awami), Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (PTI), and joint opposition backed the no-confidence motion during the session. Speaking on the feasibility of the motion, Sardar Khetran said the chief minister-led government has failed to address the issues of people and negatively impacted the national institutions.
Speaker Qudoos Bizenjo announced voting on the no-confidence motion on October 25 at 11 am in the assembly hall.
Signatures of 20 percent lawmakers required to submit a no-confidence motion
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, a no-confidence motion needs the signature of 20 percent of the legislative body of the constituent assembly to table the motion in the house.
Sardar Khetran alleged that CM Jam Kamal was not consulting the cabinet members on important issues relating to the province. He mentioned that students, teachers, doctors, and political activists were on the streets and roads of the province for their rights because of what he called ‘bad governance’.
However, five members of the ruling party including Akbar Askani, Lala Rasheed, Mahjabeen Sheran, Bushra Rind, and Laila Tareen were not present in the house. Lala Rasheed later joined the house. “Jam Kamal kidnapped our four members”, Zahoor Buledi, the president of one of the two factions of BAP told reporters. He demanded of the Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of what he called the abduction of four members. The angry members and opposition members staged a protest demonstration outside the gate of the Balochistan Assembly for the recovery of four members.
Opposition lashes at Jam Kamal
In his stormy speech, the opposition leader in Balochistan Assembly, Malik Sikandar Advocate lashed out at CM Balochistan for what he claimed worsening law order and increasing the ratio of poverty and unemployment in the province.
He said that the people’s lives and property were not safe and citizens had to protest with the dead bodies of their loved ones outside the CM House in order to urge Alyani to take action.
He said that the parents in the province pray for their children’s safe return when they leave their homes, as the government was not protecting the people. He concluded by saying that Alyani did not have the right to be the province’s chief executive.
Jam Kamal sure about the defeat of the motion
Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal on Wednesday reiterated that a motion against him would fail. “Everything would be clear on voting day”, the CM told reporters outside the Balochistan Assembly.
He said the majority of the lawmakers including the BAP and other coalition partners support his government. “We would not allow the PDM to play their politics here”, he said. The CM has also lashed out at the angry members for getting the support of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) lawmakers.
The speaker Balochistan Assembly Qudoos Bizenjo is likely to convene the assembly session on October 25 for voting on the no-confidence motion.
