Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami) candidate Syed Akbar Shah succeeded in winning the by-poll on the Senate seat that was left vacated after the resignation of Secretary General Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) Sanaullah Baloch. Four candidates were in the run for the seat including Pakistan People’s Party’s Mir Baz Mohammad Kheetran, Balochistan National Party-Awami’s Syed Akbar Shah, Awami National Party’s Abdul Jabbar Kakar as well as an independent Kahuda Babar Baloch.
Out of the house of sixty-five, sixty members exercised their right to vote. Five members including the Chief Minister Balochistan, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raeesani didn’t cast their votes. BNP-Awami’s successful candidate Syed Akbar Shah bagged 23 votes, independent Kahuda Babar Baloch 20 and PPP’s Mir Baz Kheetrani 15.
On the other hand, chief minister Punjab and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Mian Shahbaz Sharif paid a one-day visit to Balochistan. While addressing a press conference, Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that all members of the parliament belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-Nawaz) had taken an oath to restore the judges and they will not backpedal from their stance at any cost. He said that on the very first day, we had informed the federal government that ministers be appointed on the seats vacated by the PML-N ministers, adding that the PML-N will not let the government fall. The Punjab chief minister said that the former rulers should be made accountable for what has happened in the past eight years. He said that those who didn’t give safe passage to late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, we would not provide them a safe passage. He said that it was the dictators who have brought the country to a downfall in the past six decades.
He said that we would compensate for the problems faced by the province of Balochistan and ensure provincial autonomy for the province under the Constitution of 1973. The Punjab chief minister said that he had forwarded a proposal for the formation of a coordination committee comprising of the chief ministers, so as to run the affairs between the provinces and the federation smoothly and that will hold its meeting after every one and a half month.
The Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, said that during the Nawaz Sharif government the right of royalty on natural resources was accepted for the first time in 1991 and it was then, the provinces were paid the amount of royalty. He said that this proves that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz wants equitable distribution of resources. Mian Shahbaz blamed military dictatorship for the fact that the NFC award was not announced in the last eight years.
The Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, also held a meeting with the chief minister Balochistan Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raeesani. While welcoming Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the Balochistan chief minister said that the Punjab chief minister’s visit would lead greater harmony and reconciliation among the provinces and would help remove misunderstandings between the provinces. Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that our hearts beat with the people of Balochistan and they are our brothers. We are together under all circumstances. Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif announced immediate supply of additional 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Balochistan on the request of Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raeesani. The chief minister Punjab also announced to increase the number of seats for the students from Balochistan in the technical, medical and veterinary colleges of Punjab.
Mian Shahbaz Sharif also invited the chief minister Balochistan to visit Punjab adding that it was his wish that a delegation from Balochistan comprising of intellectuals, scholars, writers, students and artists visit Punjab, so that an atmosphere of better mutual understanding and inter-provincial relations is strengthened. Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that we would live up to the expectations of the people of Balochistan and are ready for any kind of sacrifice. During this meeting the two chief ministers also discussed matters related to the two provinces and of national interest.
Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Ihsan Iqbal and other leaders in their address at the residence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Sardar Yaqoob Nasir at the party workers’ convention said that the whole country under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif wants restoration of the judges and is willing to give any kind of sacrifice.
He said that President Musharraf violated the Constitution of Pakistan and held the honourable judges under house arrest. Shahbaz Sharif said that whatever is happening in the country is due to Musharraf and his close associates. He said that Punjab was not just the bigger brother of Balochistan rather it was the real brother of the people of Balochistan.