QUETTA: All four provincial assemblies now stood dissolved after Balo­c­histan Governor Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar signed the summary to dissolve the legislature.

Mr Kakar approved the summary on Saturday, sent by the outgoing chief minister Mir Abdul Qud­oos Bizenjo, according to a notification issued by the Governor House.

“In exercise of power con­ferred by Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakis­tan, 1973, Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar, Gover­nor Balochistan, on the adv­­ice of Mir Abdul Qud­oos Bizenjo, Chi­ef Min­­i­ster of Balochis­tan, is ple­ased to dissolve the Pro­vincial Assembly of Baloc­h­istan with effect from 12th August 2023 at 05:00 pm,” the notification stated.

Earlier on Friday, the Sindh governor signed the summary to dissolve the assembly. The Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were dissolved earlier this year.

The Balochistan assembly was dissolved on Aug 12, the last day of its five-year constitutional term. The house started working on Aug 13, 2018, when the elec­ted members took the oath.

Even though the assembly’s term has ended and his cabinet dissolved, Mr Biz­enjo will continue to work as Balochistan CM till the appointment of a caretaker successor.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Bizenjo had proclaimed the assembly will be “kept intact” till the last movement.

There were reports that the outgoing cabinet will hold its last meeting on Friday night but no meeting was held and the chief minister sent the advice to dissolve the house early in the morning.

No consensus on caretaker CM

CM Bizenjo and the opposition leader are yet to reach a consensus on the name of the caretaker chief minister despite holding multiple meetings.

Opposition parties in the previous assembly have chosen their candidates for the slot of the caretaker CM, according to sources.

The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which headed the six-party coalition government in Balochistan for five years, has also tabled the names of its favoured candidates.

Mr Bizenjo wants a BAP leader for the caretaker CM slot and has been trying to woo the opposition leader, Malik Sikandar Khan, to agree on the name of Mir Naseer Bizenjo, former district council chairman of Awaran, the native district of CM Bizenjo.

The opposition has proposed Usman Badini, a former MNA from Balochistan, for the position.

JUI-F and BNP-Mengal have been negotiating to propose a joint candidate but so far talks have remained inconclusive.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who himself was a candidate for the slot of caretaker prime minister, wants his younger brother Ejaz Sanjrani as caretaker CM. The name of Mir Hammal Kalmati was also being floated as a probable candidate for chief minister. Mr Kalmati was a member of the last assembly from Gawadar. A Balochistan National Party-Mengal leader, he also served as the province’s fisheries minister. Other names circulating for the caretaker CM included Senator Kahuda Babar Baloch of BAP and Mir Naveed Kalmati, a businessman from Gwadar who unsuccessfully contested a Senate election in 2021 as technocrat but lost to BAP founder Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi.

The name of former caretaker CM Sardar Ghous Bakhsh Barozai was also among the mix. He held the post in 2013.

The chief minister was expected to meet the opposition leader on Sunday (today) to agree on a candidate. However, political observers have ruled out any agreement between the two leaders and see the matter being referred to a parliamentary committee and, in case of failure, to the ECP.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2023