ISLAMABAD, Dec 22, Reuter: A caretaker Chief Minister took control in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on Thursday but opposition leaders said Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s first domestic political crisis sparked by the dissolution of the provincial assembly was not yet over.
Officials said Justice Kudha Baksh Marri was sworn in as acting Chief Minister by Baluchistan Governor Mohammad Musa. A five member Cabinet was due to take office on Friday.
Nusa dissolved the provincial legislature on December 15, acting ‘on the advice of then Chief Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali which the Governor was constitutionally bound to follow.
Baluchistan is the largest but least populated of Pakistan’s four provinces.
Political Analysts said the dissolution only two weeks after Bhutto became premier had saved Jamali, who headed a coalition including her Pakistan’s People’s Party, from losing a vote of confidence.
Bhutto, whose party won general elections on November 16, has denied opposition accusations she conspired to keep an ally in power and challenged them to take the issue to court or face elections within 90 days.
Opposition leaders are divided on how best to tackle the problem and some who have held talks with Bhutto this week said she shared their desire for a solution.
Opposition leaders are divided on how best to tackle the problem and some who have held talks with Bhutto this week said she shared their desire for a solution.
“We have not yet reached a consensus to wriggle out of the crisis but we are continually trying to find a respectable solution,” said Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulena-I-Islam party.
Other opposition leaders say either the dissolution must be undone by a constitutional amendment by parliament or the government should take the matter to court.
A spokesman for the main opposition Islamic Democratic Alliance said: “There is no shift in our stand.”
The opposition boycotted the national assembly (lower house of parliament) in the capital Islamabad for a week in protest against the dissolution of the provincial body.
An opposition strike closed shops and businesses in several Baluchistan towns on Saturday and leaders have threatened to stage a protest campaign from December 28.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1988
