A member of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly shows her vote to Director PR Department Kamran Asad and Hafiz Abdul Basit, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Balochistan, after marking the ballot during voting on the no-confidence motion agaisnt Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhootani on Wedensday.—Photo by ONLINE

QUETTA: To prove their loyalty, members of Balochistan Assembly were asked to openly violate the parliamentary code of ethics by showing their votes during secret balloting on a no-confidence motion against Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, an MPA said on Thursday.

The provincial assembly had adopted a no-trust motion against the Speaker on Wednesday. Except JUI (F) members, the members from PPP and PML (Q) showed their marked ballots to two senior officers of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

“I was assured release of frozen funds after voting against Speaker (Bhootani),” one of the female members told this scribe on condition of anonymity.

The MPA claimed she was asked to show the ballot after casting her vote.

“I did what they had demanded,” she said.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani had spent a week in Quetta to get the support of coalition partners and independent candidates to oust Bhootani.

Newly appointed opposition leader Nawabzada Tariq Magsi objected over the assembly proceedings thus walking out of the house.

PPP Balochistan President Mir Sadiq Umrani and Jan Ali Changezi also walked out of the house to record their protest.

Differences surfaced in the Balochistan cabinet as around 19 members abstained from voting.

“The absent 19 members were my supporters”, Bhootani told a press conference on Wednesday. He has already announced that he will challenge the no-confidence motion in the Court.

Opinion

Editorial

X post facto
Updated 19 Apr, 2024

X post facto

Our decision-makers should realise the harm they are causing.
Insufficient inquiry
19 Apr, 2024

Insufficient inquiry

UNLESS the state is honest about the mistakes its functionaries have made, we will be doomed to repeat our follies....
Melting glaciers
19 Apr, 2024

Melting glaciers

AFTER several rain-related deaths in KP in recent days, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority has sprung into...
IMF’s projections
Updated 18 Apr, 2024

IMF’s projections

The problems are well-known and the country is aware of what is needed to stabilise the economy; the challenge is follow-through and implementation.
Hepatitis crisis
18 Apr, 2024

Hepatitis crisis

THE sheer scale of the crisis is staggering. A new WHO report flags Pakistan as the country with the highest number...
Never-ending suffering
18 Apr, 2024

Never-ending suffering

OVER the weekend, the world witnessed an intense spectacle when Iran launched its drone-and-missile barrage against...