QUETTA: The apathy of the federal political parties toward Balochistan, and infighting among the nationalist parties, led to formation of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), with the aim of championing the rights of people in the province, according to Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Chief Minister of the province.
“Since the National Assembly seats from Balochistan are few, the federal parties would hardly pay any heed to the issues of Balochistan,” he said in an exclusive interview with Arab News. “That was one of the reasons that recently we formed a group of like-minded people.”
The second reason, he added, was the infighting by nationalist parties in the strategically and economically important province, which created divisions in the name of Pashtun and Baloch.
“The student groups of these parties would fight just in order to gain street power,” said Bizenjo.
This prompted his colleagues to form a forum of like-minded politicians of all ethnicities, including Baloch, Pashtun, Punjabi and Hazara.
“The Baloch and Pashtun can’t be divided so why quarrel?” he said. “Why not play a role in the development of province, where we all live?”
Bizenjo predicted that the BAP will win a majority of seats in both the Baloch and Pashtun belts.
“We will form the next government and will carry on with our vision of the development and prosperity of the ‘most resourceful but backward’ province,” he said.
“We were bombarded with allegations. Some said we were going to join a political party, some said we were here to be reasons for the postponement of the upcoming general polls, some said we had other hidden agendas — but we proved all wrong”.
Bizenjo said he and his colleagues realized that if they unite to take their case to Islamabad with thorough planning, and in a better-organized way, success is more likely.
“We got the first Senate Chairman from Balochistan through planning,” he added. “This thing gave us confidence and we started to ponder that if we as a group can achieve this, why shouldn’t we form a political party?
“We realized we can play a role in securing rights of Balochistan. We can provide better forum to the province, which we will in the form of the Balochistan Awami Party.”
Three members of national assembly, including Jam Kamal Khan, Mir Dostain Khan Domki and Khalid Kamal Magsi, recently quit the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, sparking speculation that they will join the BAP.
Bizenjo would not confirm this but said: “We will see many people joining the BAP in coming days. Many people would join us because we have an agenda; an agenda for the development of Balochistan.
“Balochistan has many issues but if when we compare these with our resources, we can change the destiny of the province”.
Bizenjo said that if the Reko Diq mine’s gold reserves, amounting to 41.5 million ounces, and other projects are considered, Balochistan would not need financial help from any other region.
“Instead we would be able to give money to other provinces,” he said. “There can be a huge change if we could utilize our resources in better ways.
“A case regarding Reko Diq is pending in the International Court of Justice. I visited the United States in a bit to remove the legal hitches so that a project that could change the destiny of Balochistan may be brought to life.”
Bizenjo pointed out that although Balochistan is the smallest province in term of population, in terms of area it covers half of Pakistan. The population is therefore scattered, as a result of which more resources are required to serve the people.
“But even if we could just use our available resources properly we can give relief to our people,” he added. “We are going to present fiscal budget for 2018-19. Education and health will be our top priorities.”
Apathy of federal parties led to creation of Balochistan Awami Party, says Bizenjo
Apathy of federal parties led to creation of Balochistan Awami Party, says Bizenjo
- Chief Minister of Balochistan vowed that the newly formed BAP will protect the rights of the people of province
- He said the problems facing the region could not be resolved previously due to its lack of influence in lower house of Pakistan parliament
Imran Khan’s party shutdown draws mixed response; government calls it ‘ineffective’
- Ex-PM Khan’s PTI party had called for a ‘shutter-down strike’ to protest Feb. 8, 2024 general election results
- While businesses reportedly remained closed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they continued as normal elsewhere
ISLAMABAD: A nationwide “shutter-down strike” called by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party drew a mixed response in Pakistan on Sunday, underscoring political polarization in the country two years after a controversial general election.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) opposition party had urged the masses to shut businesses across the country to protest alleged rigging on the second anniversary of the Feb. 8, 2024 general election.
Local media reported a majority of businesses remained closed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, governed by the PTI, while business continued as normal in other provinces as several trade associations distanced themselves from the strike call.
Arab News visited major markets in Islamabad’s G-6, G-9, I-8 and F-6 sectors, as well as commercial hubs in Rawalpindi, which largely remained operational on Sunday, a public holiday when shops, restaurants and malls typically remain open in Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s constitution says people will elect their representatives. But on 8th February 2024, people were barred from exercising their voting right freely,” Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri, the PTI opposition leader in the Senate, said at a protest march near Islamabad’s iconic Faisal Mosque.
Millions of Pakistanis voted for national and provincial candidates during the Feb. 8, 2024 election, which was marred by a nationwide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties. The caretaker government at the time and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) both rejected the allegations.
Khan’s PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls. They won the most seats but fell short of the majority needed to form a government, which was made by a smattering of rival political parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The government insists the polling was conducted transparently and that Khan’s party was not denied a fair chance.
Authorities in the Pakistani capital deployed a heavy police contingent on the main road leading to the Faisal Mosque on Sunday. Despite police presence and the reported arrest of some PTI workers, Jafri led local PTI members and dozens of supporters who chanted slogans against the government at the march.
“We promise we will never forget 8th February,” Jafri said.
The PTI said its strike call was “successful” and shared videos on official social media accounts showing closed shops and markets in various parts of the country.
The government, however, dismissed the protest as “ineffective.”
“The public is fed up with protest politics and has strongly rejected PTI’s call,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X.
“It’s Sunday, yet there is still hustle and bustle.”
Ajmal Baloch, All Pakistan Traders Association president, said they neither support such protest calls, nor prevent individuals from closing shops based on personal political affiliation.
“It’s a call from a political party and we do not close businesses on calls of any political party,” Baloch told Arab News.
“We only give calls of strike on issues related to traders.”
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with the country’s powerful generals. The army denies it interferes in politics. Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal challenges that ruled him out of the Feb. 8 general elections and which he says are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from power.
In Jan. 2025, an accountability court convicted Khan and his wife in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case, sentencing him to 14 years and her to seven years after finding that the trust was used to acquire land and funds in exchange for alleged favors. The couple denies any wrongdoing.
