QUETTA: Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) chief and special assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on reconciliation and harmony in Balochistan, Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, stepped down from his post on Sunday citing a lack of development in the province.
Bugti made the announcement after meeting with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, who called on him at his residence where the two discussed the political situation in the country.
Addressing a press conference, Bugti announced that he would support the opposition in the wake of the no-confidence motion submitted against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said that the government had failed to deliver in Balochistan. “The federal government gave us hope that things will improve but the people have been disappointed,” he said.
“We are standing with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and will do whatever we can,” he said. He further said the government did not provide money for a transmission line, blood bank, and laboratory in the province.
The MNA also alleged that insurgency grew during the PTI government’s tenure due to its negligence. “I have done everything except for banging my head into the wall. Imran Khan says everyone is corrupt. But put the evidence in front of the people, they will decide. But all you do is use wrong words,” he added.
Taking over the presser, Bilawal Bhutto termed Bugti’s resignation a “brave decision”. The PPP chairman said that the MNA had tried to work with the government during the past three years but it had “betrayed the people and the opposition”.
Thanking Bugti, he said that the MNA had sent a message to the people of the country. “The people are looking to us to solve their problems. Balochistan’s issues are complicated and our history has not been fair with these people,” he added.
Commenting on the premier’s “surprise” for the opposition, the PPP chairman said that PM Imran had “lost his power”. “This is all propaganda and it won’t work because the people of Pakistan know that Naya Pakistan mean inflation and unemployment,” he concluded.
The prime minister had appointed Bugti as his special assistant last year in July soon after deciding to hold talks with disgruntled Baloch tribesmen to pave way for permanent peace and progress in Balochistan.
His resignation comes amid mounting political tensions ahead of the no-confidence vote submitted by the opposition against the prime minister.
