Balochistan: Assembly Rejects Recently Imposed Governor’s Rule As “Undemocratic”

A recent assembly session condemned both the fifth time that an elected Balochistan government has been rejected by the centre, as well as the recent bombings that have been seen as part of a federal government “conspiracy” to destabilise the elected provincial government.

Below is an article published by Dawn.com:

The Balochistan Assembly unanimously adopted on Tuesday two resolutions which rejected imposition of governor’s rule in the province as an undemocratic move, demanded reversal and called for a judicial inquiry into the killing of Shia Hazaras in bomb blasts.

The movers and supporters of the resolution said it was for the fifth time that an elected government of Balochistan had been dismissed by the centre. They warned Islamabad against pushing to the wall the people and political parties which stand for parliamentary politics and democracy.

The assembly session was called by Governor Nawab Zulfikar Magsi on Jan 12. But, when MPAs reached the assembly building they found a contingent of Frontier Corps deployed on the gates and doors of the assembly hall. The FC personnel refused to let them enter the premises.

Former senior minister Maulana Wasey and other MPAs rushed to the Governor’s House and informed Mr Magsi about the situation. The governor ordered withdrawal of the FC contingent from the premises after which the session began with Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha in the chair.

Legislator Aainullah Shams moved the resolution which condemned Thursday’s blasts and expressed sorrow over deaths and injuries caused by them. The resolution demanded an inquiry into the incidents by judges of the Supreme Court or Balochistan High Court to bring the perpetrators to book.

MPAs Syed Ehsan Shah, Ali Madad Jattak, Sultan Tareen, Dr Abdul Razzaq and Jay Prakash Narain said the blasts were part of a conspiracy to destabilise the elected government.

They said that it was the responsibility of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies to provide prior information about such incidents and arrest the culprits.

The house adopted the resolution unanimously.

It unanimously adopted another resolution which described the imposition of governor’s rule as an undemocratic act and demanded withdrawal of the notification issued in this regard and reinstatement of the government headed by Nawab Aslam Raisani.

Moving the resolution, Mir Shahnawaz Marri said removal of the elected government was an insult to the elected representatives of the province.

Ali Madad Jattak, Maulana Wasey, Syed Ehsan Shah, Asghar Rind, Asad Baloch, Dr Abdul Razzaq and Aainullah Shams criticised the federal government for imposing governor’s rule and accused the bureaucracy of having hatched a conspiracy against the elected government.

They said targeted killings, bomb blasts and terrorist attacks were taking place throughout the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi, and even at GHQ, Mehran naval base and military installation in Risalpur. The airport in Peshawar and Sri Lankan cricket team had also come under attack. But such action was not taken in any other province.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at Governor’s House on Saturday, they said, they had proposed an in-house change and told him that the Nawab Aslam Raisani was ready to resign.

They said through governor’s rule, Islamabad was forcing political parties believing in parliamentary politics to look for other options.

They alleged that bureaucracy wanted to establish what they called “Punjab Raj” in Balochistan.

They said Reko Diq copper-cum-gold mining project was one of the reasons behind removal of the government because it had resisted attempts to award mining rights at throwaway prices. They warned that Balochistan would not accept the signing of any agreement on Reko Diq project in the absence of an elected government.

They said they would not move the court against the governor’s rule and would instead “go to the court of people” to get their verdict on the injustice meted out to the elected government. The speaker later adjourned the session till Jan 18.