The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday named Alauddin Marri as the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan.

ECP Additional Secretary Akhtar Nazir announced Marri's name while speaking to the press in Islamabad. He said that the decision was taken unanimously by members of the ECP.

"All respected members took part in the meeting which was chaired by the ECP chairman. After deliberation on the matter, the members of the meeting unanimously agreed upon appointing Alauddin Marri as the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan," Nazir said in his announcement.

With this announcement, the interim CMs of all four provinces have now been named.

Marri's name had been shortlisted as a nominee for the post, along with Sardar Shau­kat Aziz Popal­zai (both proposed by the government), and Aslam Bhootani and Jahan­gir Ashraf Qazi (recommended by the opposition).

The process of selection of caretaker chief minister of Balochistan had been referred to the ECP after the government-nominated members in Quetta did not turn up at a meeting of the parliamentary committee.

Earlier today, as he announced the ECP's pick for Punjab interim CM, Nazir had said that the that the body would announce the name of the interim Balochistan CM today or tomorrow after receiving proposed names from the parliamentary committee.

In Quetta, the first meeting of the parliamentary committee constituted for selection of caretaker chief minister of Balochistan chaired by former chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was held on Wednesday.

Three members representing the opposition, including former chief minister Malik Baloch and Syed Liaquat Agha, were present at the meeting but three other members representing the previous government — Tahir Mehmood, Sardarzada Sarfaraz Khan Domki and Amanullah Notezai — did not attend the meeting.

Subsequently, both the government and opposition forwarded the names of the shortlisted nominees to the ECP for the final decision after failing to reach consensus on one candidate.

Who is Alauddin Marri?

Alauddin Marri, a businessman and social worker from Mastung, is the son of former bureaucrat Ghulam Moheyuddin Marri and is not a member of any political party.

He was born in Quetta in 1979. He received his primary education from Tameer-i-Nau Public School in Quetta and his secondary education from the Tameer-i-Nau Public College. He graduated from Balochistan University.

He has served as chairman of the Pakistan European Business Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Marri had earlier this year filed nomination papers for the recent Senate election as an independent candidate, but later withdrew them.