QUETTA: A day before a crucial session of the Balochistan Assembly, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi flew to the provincial capital on Monday and held consultations with the local Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leadership as well as with allied parties in the province in a bid to save Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri from an impending no-trust motion.

Following the submission of the no-confidence motion against the CM, both the government and opposition have been claiming that they enjoy a majority in the house.

The no-confidence motion is set to be tabled on Tuesday (today) in the assembly session to be presided over by Speaker Raheela Durrani.

According to Article 136 of the Constitution, the resolution “shall not be voted upon before the expiration of three days, or later than seven days, from the day on which such resolution is moved in the Provincial Assembly”.

Thirty-three members are required in the 65-member house for the passage of the no-confidence motion and it appears that with its eight MPAs the opposition Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has the key to the success or failure of the motion.

Joint opposition refuses to meet PM; with eight MPAs, JUI-F holds key to success or failure of motion

The PM reached Quetta a day after CM Zehri contacted PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and sought his help to defeat the no-trust motion against him. However, his meeting with the members of the ruling PML-N who revolted against Mr Zehri and joined hands with the movers of the no-trust motion could not take place despite hectic efforts.

The opposition parties, including the JUI-F, also claimed that they were approached, but they plainly refused to attend any meeting with the PM regarding withdrawal of their move against the CM.

Sources said that PM Abbasi, however, met members of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party (NP) and members of the PML-N supporting CM Zehri to devise a strategy to defeat the no-trust motion.

They said that the consultations between the PM, CM Zehri, some federal ministers and senior party leaders continued till late into the night. No official statement was issued with regards to the PM’s late-night political engagements.

The central leadership of the PML-N knows the importance of the JUI-F in defeating the no-trust motion against CM Zehri. It believes that if ousted PM Nawaz Sharif talked to the JUI-F chief and took him “on board” the latter might convince his eight MPAs to vote for CM Zehri.

‘Opposition not involved in conspiracy against democracy’

Earlier in the day, Leader of the Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Maulana Abdul Wasey of the JUI-F along with former home minister and disgruntled PML-N lawmaker Sarfaraz Bugti, PML-Q’s Mir Abdul Quddoos Bizenjo and Awami National Party’s Zamarak Khan Piralizai told a press conference that there would be no compromise on the issue of the no-confidence motion and the opposition would move forward without taking any outside interference.

He said that the opposition was not involved in any conspiracy against democracy or undermining the political process in Balochistan. He said if there was any threat to democracy, his party would be in the forefront to defend democracy.

Criticising the provincial government, the opposition leader said that it was “the most corrupt government in the political history of Balochistan”.

He said that like-minded people in the assembly had formed a united front against rampant corruption and “we will complete our mission to dismantle the corrupt government in Balochistan”.

Maulana Wasay and Mr Piralizai both claimed that they refused to meet anyone on the issue of the no-trust motion against the CM.

The opposition leader claimed that he refused to meet anyone as he received repeated calls from various government offices.

He said that it was a domestic issue of Balochistan and the Centre should not interfere in it.

Mr Bugti predicted that more political heavyweights would tender their resignation to join the opposition in the assembly session.

BNM asks MPAs to foil no-trust motion Also on Monday, Balochistan National Movement (BNM) president Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch urged members of the Balochistan Assembly to foil the no-trust motion against the CM so that the assembly and the provincial government could complete their constitutional terms.

Speaking at a press conference along with BNM’s secretary general Mir Iqbal Zehri here, he said that all stakeholders could take a decision in this regard after a careful thought.

He said some elements after having failed in their attempts to disrupt the functions of democratic institutions in Islamabad and Punjab were now talking about Balochistan Assembly’s dissolution.

He said a no-trust motion was a democratic right of legislators, but if it was designed to damage a democratic institution it should be opposed. The BNM would never support such a move which had nefarious designs against democracy and democratic institutions, he added.

Dr Baloch said he and his party wanted all assemblies and elected governments should compete their constitutional terms.

He claimed that the Panama Papers case and protest sits-in by religious and political parties in recent years were attempts to derail the democratic system in the country. Conspiracies were being hatched against democracy and to weaken parliament since 2013, he added.

Dr Baloch said the BNM supported what he called the PML-N efforts for the supremacy of parliament and civilian rule in the country. Rights of people could be protected only if the country’s democratic institution were strengthened, he added. He said all democratic forces in the country should support the PML-N’s efforts for strengthening the democratic institutions in the country. A multiparty conference should be convened to discuss the importance of democracy for the development of the country, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2018