QUETTA:The matter of nominating the Balochistan caretaker chief minister was referred to a parliamentary committee on Wednesday after the chief minister and the opposition leader failed to evolve a consensus. Despite late-night reports on Tuesday of an agreement between the chief minister and the Opposition leader on the name of Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki, the matter was assigned to the parliamentary committee after the constitutional time for nominating the caretaker chief minister expired.

Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Opposition Leader Malik Sikandar Khan Advocate could not agree on one name for the caretaker chief minister. Under the constitution, the speaker will form a parliamentary committee comprising members from both the government and the opposition sides.

If the parliamentary committee does not decide on a name in three days, the matter will be sent to the election commission which will have two days to select a name. Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo finalised the names of the parliamentary committee members for the nomination of the caretaker chief minister.

The names of the parliamentary committee members were sent to the Balochistan Assembly speaker. Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and Zmarak Khan Achakzai were included in the parliamentary committee.

It is also learnt that rifts within the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on the issue of the Balochistan caretaker chief minister have become visible. Earlier, the names of Usman Badini and Hamal Kalmati were proposed by the opposition parties in the PDM for the caretaker chief minister. The name of Usman Badini was suggested by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) while Hamal Kalmati was suggested by Balochistan National Party (BNP).

Now the opposition leader has named Ali Mardan Domki for the parliamentary committee instead of Hamal Kalmati, the government sources said. Ali Mardan is a candidate of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq and former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal, not the opposition, they added.

“The opposition leader did not take BNP into confidence about Ali Mardan. The ruling institutions want to make Ali Mardan Domki the caretaker chief minister,” they stated. It was earlier reported that Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki of Sibi district has been nominated as the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan. However, reports said later CM Bizenjo changed his mind and did not sign the summary suggesting Mr Domki as his successor.

On Tuesday also, Mr Mardan Domki and former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal Alyani had also called on caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar at PM’s House in Islamabad. The Balochistan Assembly had been dissolved after Governor Malik Abdul Wali Kakar signed the summary moved by CM Bizenjo for its dissolution last week. With the assembly’s dissolution, the provincial cabinet had also been disbanded, and Bizenjo is set to transfer power to the caretaker setup.

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