KARACHI: The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan on Friday elected Abdul Quddus Bizenjo as the chief minister of the southwestern Pakistani province, days after Jam Kamal Khan tendered his resignation following differences within the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
Bizenjo, who was elected unopposed, secured 39 votes in the house of 65 members, as an 11-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), chose to stay away from the vote. Outgoing Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and former chief minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani didn’t attend the assembly session either.
Balochistan, the southwestern Pakistani province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, has witnessed several attacks from armed Baloch separatist and militant groups over the past decade. But the strategic importance of the province continues to grow because of the multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“I would be accessible to all,” Bizenjo said after being elected as the chief minister. His victory was “everyone’s victory in the house,” he added.
Later in the evening, Balochistan Governor Syed Zahoor Agha was to administer oath to the new chief minister.
Bizenjo, who has been elected as the chief executive of the province for the second time, belongs to the Awaran district. The district has also been home to Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch, the chief of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF).
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) both supported Bizenjo for the office of the Balochistan chief minister.
At a recent press conference in Islamabad after meeting Senate Chairman and BAP leader Sadiq Sanjrani, PTI leader Pervez Khattak had announced the federal government’s decision to support the BAP candidate, who was backed by a majority of party members.
“We will support the decision of the majority within BAP,” Khattak had replied, when asked whom the PTI government would support as the new Balochistan chief minister.
Before tendering his resignation on October 24, Jam Kamal Khan had called on PM Imran Khan to take notice of interference by his ministers in Balochistan’s affairs.
In another tweet the same day, Khan said he was leaving his decision to the party and coalition members because he had seen “jealousy, fake propaganda and hunger” for the chief ministership.
However, the former chief minister on Tuesday said his differences with his party members were over as he extended good wishes to Bizenjo, the joint candidate for the top provincial slot.
Bizenjo, whose long campaign ousted Jam Kamal Khan, was earlier elected as the chief minister on January 13, 2018. He served till the dissolution of assemblies for the June 2018 election after playing a vital role in the ouster of another former chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri on January 2, 2018.
Having received barely a few hundred votes in the 2018 election for the Awaran seat, Bizenjo had won the trust of 41 out of a total of 65 provincial lawmakers.
He was later elected as the Balochistan Assembly speaker.
