Balochistan CM appoints 11 displeased members as parliamentary secretaries

QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti has appointed 11 dissatisfied members of the assembly as parliamentary secretaries, with ten of them belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

According to a government notification, from the PML-N Sardar Masood Luni has been appointed as the parliamentary secretary for forests and wildlife, Barkat Ali for fisheries and coastal development, and Mohammad Khan Lehri for excise and taxation.

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From the PPP, Asfandyar Kakar and G.A. Deen have been made parliamentary secretaries for prosecution, Samad Khan Gorgage for law and parliamentary affairs, and Asghar Rind for the energy department.

Abdul Majid Badini of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has been appointed as the parliamentary secretary for transport. Minority member Sanjay Kumar has been appointed as the parliamentary secretary for minority affairs.

Political analysts attribute the large number of parliamentary secretaries to the dissatisfaction among assembly members. They speculate that since both major parties had a significant number of eligible candidates who were unhappy about not being appointed ministers or advisors, there was considerable pressure on the chief minister.

To ease this pressure, 11 members have been appointed as the parliamentary secretaries, effectively placating their grievances.

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Both major parties had also included some independent members under the condition that they would be given good portfolios as well as inclusion in the cabinet. But this was not possible due to constitutional limitations. Hence the discontent among assembly members persisted.

It is worth noting that while the Balochistan Assembly may be smaller in terms of numbers, its cabinet has often been sizable. Moreover, every member of the provincial assembly is a member of the provincial cabinet, as has been observed multiple times. – INP