QUETTA – A no-confidence motion against Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan was presented in the provincial assembly session here on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s session of the Balochistan’s provincial assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo. During the session, an assembly member Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran presented a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister.
The motion demanded that Jam Kamal should step down from the slot of Chief Minister as he lost confidence in the House due to his poor governance. Later, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo fixed October 25 (Monday) for voting on the no-confidence motion. The vote will be carried out at 11:00 am.
The disgruntled members of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the opposition on Wednesday tabled the no-confidence motion against embattled Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan in the provincial assembly. Food Minister Abdul Rehman Khetran tabled the motion in the provincial assembly. Out of 65 members, 33 backed the motion, which is also the number of lawmakers required to pass the motion when it is put up for voting.
According to the Constitution, a no-confidence motion needs the signatures of 20 per cent of the make-up of the legislative body to be tabled for discussion and half the members must vote in favour of it to be passed.
When chief executive will not pay attention to people, then how people will trust his leadership: Malik Sikandar
Reading from the motion, Khetran said that the performance of government institutions had been negatively affected during the chief minister’s three-year tenure while unemployment had also spread.
He alleged that Alyani had taken care of important provincial matters without consultation which had caused “irreparable damage”. He said that lawmakers had tried to inform the CM about the damage being caused, but he paid no heed.
He noted that many people in the province, including bureaucrats, doctors, students and landowners, had taken to the streets in protest of the government’s “bad governance”. In view of these facts, Khetran said that Jam Kamal should be removed as the provincial chief minister.
Khetran also demanded the release of five “missing” parliamentarians. Claiming to be a “well-wisher” of Jam Kamal, he advised the chief minister to step down.
In his speech, Opposition Leader Malik Sikandar Khan outlined the responsibilities of the province’s chief executive. He said that the chief executive is someone who has to work tirelessly for the people’s welfare.
“The responsibilities also include reassuring the people that he is at the frontline in tackling the issues they are facing,” he said. The opposition leader said that the chief executive was also responsible for using the province’s funds on the people, and putting an end to corruption.
Khan then moved to the current situation in the province, where the people didn’t have access to clean drinking water or water to grow their crops. He also said that people were facing a shortage of gas in certain areas during the winter months. “ When the chief executive will not pay attention to this or the people dying due to the cold, then how will the people trust the leadership?”
He said that the people’s lives and property were not safe and citizens had to protest with the dead bodies of their loved ones outside the CM House in order to urge Jam Kamal to take action.
He said that the parents in the province pray for their children’s safe return when they leave their homes, as the government was not protecting the people. He concluded by saying that Jam Kamal did not have the right to be the province’s chief executive.
Speaking to the media before today’s session, the chief minister said that the motion would be tabled during Wednesday’s session and would be debated upon. Later, the speaker will fix a day for voting on the motion, he said. According to the assembly rules, the speaker must summon the session between three and seven days after the motion has been tabled.