As the next general election draws closer, politics heats up in Balochistan with veteran politicians and “electables” preparing to jump ships and change loyalties.
Some politicians are preparing to join the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) while some other are ready to become part of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The JUI-F which has its eye on the chief minister position has already invited Nawaz Aslam Raisani – former Balochistan chief minister – to join the politico-religious party.
In this regard, JUI-F chief Maualan Fazlur Rehman himself went to Raisani’s residence. According to sources, the politician is inclined towards the JUI-F and has started consultations with the elders of his tribe and the people of his constituency.
The politicians who are getting closer to the PPP include former chief minister Sanaullah Zehri and former federal minister and governor Abdul Qadir Baloch – both of which were earlier part of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Nawaz Muhammad Khan Shahwani and Agha Irfan Karim are also likely to join the PPP. Shahwani had contested the 2013 general election on the ticket of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) and had later served as a provincial minister.
Agha Irfan Karim had stood victorious on a provincial assembly seat at 2008 general election and had later become a part of the PPP, which had also formed a government in the province.
Right now, the political future of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) is in doubt. The party – which was formed overnight in 2018 to topple the PML-N led provincial government – is a manifestation of a political culture in which political loyalties change at a drop of a hat.
In 2002 general election, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) – which originally comprised members defecting from the PML-N – had managed to win majority seats in the Balochistan Assembly and the party had established a government in the province with the help of the JUI-F.
In the 2008 general election, the PML-Q and its allies managed to get 19 seats. However, this time the PPP secured the majority of seats and the party formed its government after a number of the PML-Q members and independents joined the PPP.
After the 2013 polls, the PML-N formed its government in the province with the support of the National Party (NP), the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and some independents, who later started causing trouble for chief minister Abdul Malik Baloch, who belongs to the NP.
However, just months before the 2018 general election, a large number of lawmakers – including members of the PML-N – started a rebellion against chief minister Sanaullah Zehri, who then belonged to the PML-N and who was to rule the province for 2.5 years as part of a power sharing formula.
This rebellion was spearheaded by Abdul Qudus Bizenjo, who enjoyed the position of the chief minister till the July 2018 general election. After the 2018 election, Bizenjo did his best to get elected as the next chief minister, but “Islamabad people” had named Jam Kamal for the top slot.
However, right after the 2018 general election, Bizenjo allegedly started hatching conspiracies against chief minister Jam Kamal with the backing of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and in September 2021, 33 members in the 65 member provincial assembly moved a motion against Kamal.
Kamal stepped down on October 24 and Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo once again managed to get elected as the chief minister of the province. However, the performance of his government has generally remained limited to issuing statements and seeking photo ops.
The provincial assembly lawmakers and ministers had complained that former CM Jam Kamal did not give them an audience. But the problem with Bizenjo is that he spends his entire day in one-on-one meetings with his ministers, lawmakers and other visitors, said sources.
The sources said the CM hardly gets time to meet government officials; receive briefings and issue instructions. Apparently, the entire government machinery now depends on two-three officers.
In order to prove that he is an “awami” chief minister, Bizenjo on January 7 rushed to the Qambrani road of the provincial capital where he stepped into knee deep water, obviously after wearing long shoes. This entire episode was covered by the media.
Similarly the CM also went to Gwadar during the marathon sit-in staged by Maulana Hidayatur Rehman of the Jamaat-e-Islami and later distributed cheques among some protestors.
However, this public appearance of Bizenjo backfired as Amanullah Kunrani, the Supreme Court Bar Association former president, filed a writ petition in Balochistan High Court against distribution of cash among the protestors, requesting the court to disqualify the chief minister.
Bizenjo’s struggle
Bizenjo belongs to Jhao Tehsil of District Awaran. He and his family do not hold any influence in the rest of tehsil Awaran and tehsil Mushkey. Awaran is situated in the south-west of Khuzdar; east of Kech and Punjgur districts; north of Gwadar; south of Washuk and the west of Lasbela.
Bizenjo is the son of senior politician late Mir Abdul Majeed Bizenjo who was continuously elected from his constituency to the provincial assembly in every election since 1985.
Majeed’s family shot to fame when his elder brother, Abdul Kareem Bizenjo, launched the Shashak movement in the 1970s against the 6% tax imposed by the tribal chieftains on every farmer.
There used to be a reign of terror in Awaran, the remotest area of Balochistan, where no one could dare to stand up against tribal elders and chieftains.
Majeed – when disqualified to take part in elections during the Musharraf era due to a pre-condition allowing only graduates to run in election – made his son, Quddus, to contest the 2002 polls
When Quddus got elected to the provincial assembly, Majeed retired from active politics.Bizenjo lost in the 2008 election but was declared winner in the 2013 elections despite obtaining only 544 votes.
