Quetta: Confusion and conflicting statements have emerged between Pakistan’s two major ruling coalition partners, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PML-N, over an alleged 2.5-year power-sharing agreement in Balochistan.
Members of the PML-N legislative assembly claim their central leadership informed them that the provincial government was formed based on a rotational agreement for 2.5 years each. On the other hand, PPP leaders are flatly denying that any such agreement exists.
Zarak Khan Mandokhail, a PML-N assembly member, told the media, “Our leadership told us there is an agreement for a 2.5-year government term in Balochistan… When the government was being formed, we were told the agreement is in written form.” He added that the 2.5-year mark is approaching, and things will become clear soon.
In sharp contrast, PPP leader and provincial minister Mir Sadiq Umrani strongly refuted the claim. “No such agreement was made when the government was formed in Balochistan, and the PPP government will complete its full 5 years,” he stated. He also added that if the PPP withdraws its support at the federal level, the PML-N’s central government will fall.
However, another PPP leader, Ali Madad Jattak, linked the issue to national politics. He said, “If the leadership of PML-N and PPP have made such a deal, then Bilawal Bhutto will become Prime Minister after 2.5 years, and we will also hand over the Balochistan government to PML-N after 2.5 years.”
These contradictory statements have raised questions about the political stability in Balochistan, as the allied parties cannot seem to agree on the basic terms of their own coalition.
