Syed Ali Shah:
QUETTA: All 11 senators from Balochistan were elected unopposed as coalition partners and opposition lawmakers developed consensus in this regard. “No sale of votes this time,” Mir Sadiq Umrani, the central leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and a lawmaker in the Balochistan Assembly said.
He said, “this all happened because of the vision of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.” For the first time, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan was also elected as a senator on a general seat from Balochistan.
Those elected unopposed are former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar; Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan, Maulana Wasey of JUI F, Bilal Mandokhail of PPP, Syedal Khan Nasar, Shahzaib Durrani of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N); Sardar Omar Gorgaij of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jan Muhammad Buledi of the National Party (NP), and Ahmed Khan Khilji of the Jamiat ul Ulema e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
Balochistan has been infamous for senate vote trading in the past. However, the consensus developed among the political parties ended this trend, Mir Zafarullah Zehir, a lawmaker from the JUI F said. He said all lawmakers agreed and were determined to end this filthy business in the province.
After the senate election, the challenge for the Chief Minister Balochistan, Sarfaraz Bugti-led government is to form the much-awaited provincial cabinet. CM Bugti told Express Tribune that the cabinet would be formed on April 4th, on the eve of the martyrdom of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the PPP founder. He also assured that no unnecessary coordinators and special assistants would be inducted into the provincial cabinet.
