ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former caretaker interior minister Sarfraz Bugti announced to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at a ceremony in Turbat, Balochistan, on Monday after stepping down from his post over the weekend to contest the next general elections.
According to Pakistan’s legal framework, members of a caretaker setup are responsible to organize free, fair and transparent election and cannot participate in the national polls.
Bugti, who previously belonged to the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), had been elected to the Senate in 2021.
“The Pakistan Peoples Party is not a new political faction for me,” he told the ceremony in Turbat in the presence of the top PPP leader and former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari.
“When I was born, I was part of the same party,” he added. “My father launched his political career from the PPP and continued to remain part of it until his death.”
The former interim minister said Balochistan was an underdeveloped province where people rightly complained of their deprivations.
He also acknowledged the province had been grappling with significant security deficit, hoping that the situation would soon improve under the PPP leadership.
Addressing the ex-president, Bugti emphasized the need for proper road network for enhanced connectivity within the province and called for more hospitals and medical facilities in remote areas.
He also said the PPP government in the province would counter nationalist politics and deal with the specter of separatism by carrying out development work in Balochistan.
Bugti, who resigned from Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s cabinet citing “personal reasons,” previously served as Balochistan’s home minister after winning the 2013 elections as an independent candidate.
Soon after, he joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which has traditionally been PPP’s rival party.
Top politician from Balochistan province joins Pakistan Peoples Party as electioneering begins
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Top politician from Balochistan province joins Pakistan Peoples Party as electioneering begins
- Sarfraz Bugti resigned on the weekend as caretaker minister since caretaker setup members are barred from contesting national polls
- The former caretaker minister was previously part of the Balochistan Awami Party when he became a senator in 2021
Sri Lanka players ask to leave Pakistan after bombing, board says no
- Sri Lanka are playing three ODIs followed by T20 tri-nation series in Pakistan this month
- Suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday made Sri Lankan players fear for security
Some Sri Lanka cricketers requested to return home from their Pakistan tour on Wednesday for safety reasons after a suicide bombing in Islamabad, but their board issued a stern directive to stay put or face consequences.
Sri Lanka are touring Pakistan, playing three one-day internationals followed by a Twenty20 tri-series along with Zimbabwe this month. Sri Lanka are scheduled to play Pakistan in the second ODI on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
But the bombing, which killed 12 people in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, made several Sri Lankan players ask to go home, the Sri Lanka Cricket board said in a statement. Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities hardly 20 km (12 miles) apart.
"SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party," the SLC said.
'CONTINUE WITH TOUR'
"In this context, SLC has instructed all players, support staff and team management to continue with the tour as scheduled," SLC added.
Any player who returns despite the directive will be replaced immediately to avoid disrupting the tour, it said.
If anyone does that, however, "a formal review will be conducted to assess their actions, and an appropriate decision will be made upon the conclusion of the review."
SLC did not respond to a question on the number of players and staff who requested to return home.
Pakistan had been struggling to convince sports teams to visit the country after gunmen attacked a bus carrying touring Sri Lanka cricket players in the city of Lahore in 2009.
At least six players were injured, and visits by international teams came to a halt as Pakistan played their "home" matches in the United Arab Emirates.
But security has improved since then in major urban centers and test cricket returned when Sri Lanka toured in 2019.
In this series, Pakistan won the first ODI, which was also held in Rawalpindi, by six runs on Tuesday.
