Sarfraz Bugti elected unopposed as Balochistan chief minister

QUETTA: Sarfraz Bugti, a former senator and home minister of Balochistan, has been elected unopposed as the chief minister of the province after he was nominated by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He is the first PPP candidate to hold the top office in Balochistan since 2008.

Sarfraz Bugti was the only contender for the post of chief minister, as no other party or independent candidate filed nomination papers by the deadline of 5 pm on Friday.

He had submitted his papers to the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, who declared him elected unopposed.

Sarfraz Bugti thanked the PPP leadership, especially chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari for their trust and confidence in him. He also expressed his gratitude to the coalition partners, including the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), the Awami National Party (ANP), and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), for their support.

He vowed to work for the development and prosperity of Balochistan, and to address the issues of law and order, corruption, and unemployment in the province.

Sarfraz Bugti belongs to the Bugti tribe of Balochistan, and is a son of Ghulam Qadir Masori Bugti, a former PPP leader and a political rival of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

He joined the PPP in 2023 after leaving the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which he had co-founded in 2018.

He has also served as a senator of Pakistan from 2015 to 2021, and as the caretaker interior minister of the country in 2023.  He is known for his stance against the Baloch separatist movement and his advocacy for the rights of the Baloch people.