QUETTA - Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and coalition partners in his government called on President Asif Ali Zardar in Islamabad on Friday.
Sources told The Nation that the interim setup was discussed at the meeting while Zardari tried to convince Aslam Raisani to tender his resignation.
According to a TV channel, Raisani has called a meeting of his cabinet on Sunday (tomorrow). The disgruntled chief minister agreed to end the ongoing constitutional crisis in the province after the meeting with the President. It was decided in the meeting that the provincial assembly will be dissolved on March 19.
Raisani arrived in Islamabad on Friday after restoration of his government. It is expected that he will reach Quetta on Saturday (today) and start consultation on the caretaker setup in Balochistan.
The coalition partners of Nawab Aslam Raisani are Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (F), Awami National Party, Balochistan National Party (Awami) parliamentary leader of PML-Q Mir Asim Kurd Gilo and two members of PPP.
Raisani and his coalition partners want the interim setup in accordance with their wishes. They also want appointment of the opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly from their own group.
It is worth mentioning here that a few weeks before imposition of the governor’s rule in Balochistan, the younger brother of the Balochistan governor, Nawabzada Tariq Magsi, was made the opposition leader in the PA.
Some political analysts say the present opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly was not nominated according to the wishes of Nawab Aslam Raisani and his trustworthy coalition partners, so it is not clear whether Tariq Magsi is removed as the opposition leader in the provincial assembly or he is retained and associated with the process of consultation on the caretaker setup.
Earlier, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha had revoked the notification of Nawabaza Tariq Magsi as the opposition leader, which had been issued by former speaker Aslam Bhootani. But the Balochistan High Court restored Tariq Magsi as the opposition leader in the provincial assembly.
The sources say Aslam Raisani and his coalition partners want to remove Tariq Magsi from the slot of the opposition leader and bring a new opposition leader so that they could form an interim setup as per their choice.
Some other sources claim that BNP-Awami and JUI-F are ready to sit on the opposition benches. Aslam Raisani has summoned a meeting of coalition partners in Quetta on Sunday to discuss the caretaker setup.