A tug of war over bagging the future coalition government in Balochistan has already started between the PPP and PML-N, leading to some confusion among electables over which one of these parties is a potential favourite of the powers-that-be in the next general elections.
Unlike the past, this time both the PPP and the PML-N are close to the power-wielders in the country, and both parties are busy engaged in securing the best deal in the future setup. Electables from other parts of the country also keep changing their loyalties, but the electable lot in Balochistan does it much more rapidly– mostly because of misuse (read: abuse) of public development funds in the province. In the given situation, it is hard for one to predict about the future government formation in the province.
It is expected that the general elections will be held some time in November or December after the formation of caretaker governments in Islamabad, Sindh and Balochistan. Consultation has started between the government and the opposition parties for a caretaker setup in Balochistan and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani who holds a strong influence in the present coalition as well as among opposition groups is trying to involve those people in the caretaker government who may serve the interests of these parties – and obviously of him – in day-to-day government affairs as well as during the election process.
There is another lobby within the Balochistan Awami Party which doesn’t want to give a free hand to Sanjrani in this regard and would rather the Election Commission of Pakistan decide the caretaker setup in the province. The PPP and PML-N have no say in the caretaker government’s formation in Balochistan because of their failure to win a single provincial or National Assembly seat from the province in the 2018 elections. Despite that, both would like some influence in the caretaker government through the power structures in the country.
It is said that these power structures had decided a few months ago to dissolve the Balochistan Awami Party for its failure in getting the desired equations on the political scene, and after that have BAP’s MPAs join the PPP. This idea was apparently later dropped and these assembly members were asked to wait till the caretaker setup was formed. Three members of the BAP – Saleem Khoso, Arif Jan Mohammad Hassani and Zahoor Khoso – have already joined the PPP fold while one PTI MNA from Balochistan Khan Jamali recently met PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi and announced his decision to join the party.
This is not all. Two sitting MPAs of the PTI – Mir Niamat Zahri, the younger brother of PPP leader Nawab Sanaullah Zahri, and Umar Jamali, the son of former prime minister late Mir Zafarullah Jamali – are also expected to announce their decision of joining the PPP in the coming weeks.
The BAP was formed a few weeks before the 2018 general elections to counter the Baloch nationalist parties’ narrative, which is seen by those in powerful quarters as supporting banned organizations in one way or the other. But the electable lot within the BAP disappointed their patrons due to their poor performance in promoting the state’s narrative and countering nationalist forces, particularly in Baloch areas where insurgency has been at its height. These individuals also became infamous for their alleged massive corruption.
The PPP, however, seems to believe – at least on the face of it – that it does not need to rely on electables and is strong enough to get the required number of seats in the coming elections to form a PPP-led ruling coalition in Balochistan. The PPP proved itself a leading party in Balochistan in the recent local bodies elections by bagging chairmanships in seven out of 32 districts. This was mainly possible due to shifting loyalties by electables and notables of the region.
In contrast, no political activity is visible on the part of the PML-N except rumoured closed