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 PM orders action against fuel hoarding amid Iran conflict supply fears
- Sharif asks authorities to shut down petrol pumps involved in any attempt to create artificial shortages
- Government says it holds adequate fuel stocks despite shipping risks as Strait of Hormuz tensions rise
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered authorities to take strict action against fuel hoarders and shut down petrol pumps involved in any attempt to create artificial shortages, as anxiety grows over potential supply disruptions from the widening conflict involving Iran.
Sharif issued the directive during a high-level meeting on petroleum supplies, where officials briefed him that Pakistan currently holds sufficient fuel reserves to meet domestic demand despite the volatile regional situation.
The move comes as Pakistan steps up contingency measures following fears of supply disruptions linked to the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
The concerns stem partly from disruptions in tanker traffic after the Strait of Hormuz — a key global oil chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which much of Pakistan’s imported crude typically transits — was shut following rising hostilities in the Gulf.
“The prime minister directed provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products,” Sharif’s office said in a statement after the meeting.
“Any petrol pump involved in the reprehensible practice of creating artificial shortages should be immediately shut down, its license revoked and legal action initiated,” it added.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) allowed oil marketing companies to temporarily regulate supplies to retail outlets to discourage hoarding and maintain stability in fuel distribution.
Sharif instructed the petroleum minister to visit provinces and coordinate with their administrations to develop a strategy for conserving petroleum products and ensuring their uninterrupted supply to the public.
The prime minister further ordered the creation of a digital dashboard to monitor the movement of petroleum products and share real-time data with provincial authorities to improve oversight of fuel transportation and distribution.
