KARACHI: Sardar Jam Khan Kamal, President of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), was elected as chief minister of the Balochistan province of Pakistan here on Saturday.
The assembly session was presided over by the newly elected speaker at the Balochistan Assembly, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, who announced the results after polling for the top provincial slot.
Kamal has polled 39 votes whereas Younis Aziz Zehri, joint candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP), obtained 20 votes.
Kamal was a joint candidate of the BAP, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) and the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP).
Former Chief Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, who remained absent from the two previous sessions, attended the assembly on Saturday and took the oath as a member of the provincial assembly.
Kamal will take the oath as chief minister today at Balochistan’s Governor House. Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai will administer the oath.
Last Thursday, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo of the BAP, was elected speaker and Sardar Babar Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as deputy speaker of the Balochistan Assembly in a vote that proved the majority of BAP and its allies for forming a coalition government.
A total of 59 members in the house of 65 cast their vote.
Bizenjo, a former chief minister who was earlier elected as deputy speaker in June 2013, was contesting for the slot of speaker as a consensus candidate of the BAP and its allies the PTI, the Awami National Party, the HDP, the BNP-Awami and the JWP.
Bizenjo got 39 votes. Muhammad Nawaz Khan, a joint candidate of the MMA and Balochistan National Party- Mengal (BNP-M) was polled 20 votes.
Rahila Hameed Khan Durrani, the outgoing speaker, administered the oath to the newly elected speaker, after which elections were held for the slot of deputy speaker.
Sardar Babar Khan, who has been elected member provincial assembly from PB-1 Musakhel-cum-Sherani on the PTI’s ticket, was elected deputy speaker.
Khan secured 36 of the 58 votes cast, while his opponent, Ahmed Nawaz of the BNP and MMA, received 21 votes. One vote was rejected.
BAP was formed by dissidents of the PML-N and PML-Q in March after they ousted the chief minister of the PML-N, Sanullah Zehri, from power and elected their own Chief Minister, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo.
The party was then joined by several more electable politicians, increasing its chances of winning a majority of seats for forming a coalition government.
Its former Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, in a previous interview with Arab News, claimed his party would win a majority and form a government in the province.
BAP’s Jam Kamal the new Chief Minister Balochistan
BAP’s Jam Kamal the new Chief Minister Balochistan
- Sardar Jam Khan Kamal, who in March 2018 formed his Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) along with other electables from the PML-N and PML-Q, has got 39 votes
- His opponent from the MMA and BNP-M was polled 20 votes
Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026
- Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
- Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.
Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.
Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.
“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.
Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.
Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.
“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”
