Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Monday stepped down from his position, a day after Chief Minister Jam Kamal resigned from the top post following a no-trust move against him.
In a handwritten resignation letter addressed to the Balochistan governor, Bizenjo said, “I, Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, hereby, tender my resignation from the office of speaker, provincial assembly of Balochistan on Monday.”
As per the letter, the speaker stepped down from his post in accordance with Article 53 and Article 127 of the Constitution.
The move came after opposition lawmakers pressured the chief minister to resign from the post through a no-trust vote. Kamal relented after a few days and finally sent his resignation to the governor on Sunday.
The no-trust motion, backed by 33 of the 65 provincial assembly members, was moved by Provincial Food Minister and BAP leader Abdul Rehman Khetran on Wednesday.
On Friday, CM Kamal had claimed that he had the support of majority members of the provincial assembly and he would foil opposition and ruling party disgruntled members’ bid to remove him through a no-trust motion.
The new CM?
Earlier this month, it was reported that Bizenjo was mobilising to become the chief minister of the province after several senior BAP members refused to support Kamal in the wake of the no-confidence motion submitted by 16 opposition lawmakers against him.
Apart from the opposition parties, the ruling Balochistan Awami Party lawmakers had told Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani that they were “fed up with Chief Minister Kamal”.
Witnessing political tension in Balochistan, Sanjrani arrived in Quetta in the middle of last month to address the concerns of the disgruntled lawmakers and help thwart the no-confidence motion. However, it appears his efforts failed to bear any fruit.
Following the meetings, Sanjrani had said that he failed to convince the angry party lawmakers who insisted on supporting the no-confidence motion against Kamal.
“We have tried to handle the situation but this time the issue is serious,” Sanjrani said, adding that Sardar Saleh Bhootani and Bizenjo have stuck to their decision.
“I hope that Jam Kamal will resolve this issue himself. I have done my bit of effort,” Sanjrani said.
