In the latest blow to the ruling PTI, another coalition member from Balochistan gave Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government a one-week ultimatum, as JWP (Jamhoori Watan Party) leader Shahzain Bugti said the PTI had not fulfilled a single promise.

According to 24NewsHD TV channel, the decision was taken at the party’s central committee meeting in Quetta, which made it clear that the alliance with the ruling party would come to an end if the agreement was materialised within a week.

Shahzain, who is a National Assembly member from NA-259 (Dera Bugti-cum-Kohlu-cum-Sibi-cum-Lehri), attended the meeting via video link and said many Bugti tribesmen were spending their lives in a helpless condition in Punjab and Sindh.

Imran, at time of taking oath as prime minister, had promised to develop Balochistan at par with other provinces but not a single promise was fulfilled during the last two years, he added.

On the other hand, sources say the opposition parties’ leaders have also decided to contact the JWP in an attempt to expand their ranks against the government.

This development comes after the Akhtar Mengal-led BNP-M, which has three National Assembly and one Senate seats, last week left the ruling coalition over the government’s failure to implement the six-point agreement inked at the time the federal government was formed.

Although the prime minister had directed federal cabinet member Pervaiz Khattak to lead the efforts to convince Mengal for reversing the decision, the recently held meeting did not produce the desired result, as the BNP-M chief made it clear that the agreement had be to be implemented first.

Addressing the National Assembly on Wednesday, Mengal had made announcement, saying, “We are not a colony. We should be considered as citizens.”

He said there were no online classes in Balochistan because there was no 3G or 4G service in the province. “No one allows us to be in the line. You are talking about [being] online,” the seasoned politician remarked.

Mengal said the ruling party had entered into a deal with the BNP-M on the issues of recovery of missing persons and the development of Balochistan. Were these agreements implemented, Mengal asked and added that a sister committed suicide after protesting for the recovery of his brother who had been missing for the last four years.

He also asked the relevant minister to explain whether the move to revise the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award is part of the plan to roll back the 18th Amendment. “Balochistan is nowhere in the budget. It has been given a small packet, not the Rs10 billion package,” said Mengal.

Later on Saturday, Mengal also attended an All Parties Conference (APC) organised by the JUI-F in Islamabad, after which Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said the government statements about the 18th Amendment were very alarming and they would not accept any reduction in the NFC (National Finance Award) Award share of provinces.

He also demanded an immediate end to the FC powers of arrests, saying that the unconstitutional and arbitrary detentions were unacceptable.

Addressing a press briefing after the APC, the seasoned political leader shared these views as he read out the declaration agreed upon at the gathering.

“The change in the NFC Award is actually a conspiracy to roll back the 18th Amendment which would be resisted,” said the JUI-F chief. 

The opposition political parties attending the meeting also called for increasing the powers of Senate and eliminating all the death squads working in Balochistan.

As the provinces are already critical of the federal government led by the PTI over the slashing their respective NFC Award shares, Fazl said Balochistan had been ignored in the CPEC. “We consider PTI and BAP as twin brothers,” remarked Fazl in his typical sarcastic manner.

Speaking on the occasion, BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal said they were not interested in what the ruling alliance was doing as his party had left the government. “We will not support the Finance Bill,” he made it clear.

Not only the BNP-M but also the entire Balochistan join the PTI if the government solved the problems, said Mengal, in an apparent jibe at Prime Minister Imran for his ineffectiveness. “We brought the issue of Balochistan to the Parliament from Twitter,” he added.

Mengal added that he could not make the decision of joining the government again on his own as it was up to his party’s general council.

Replying to a question, Fazl called for sentencing the government, saying the court decision in favour of Justice Qazi Faez Isa showed that the presidential reference was based upon mala fide intentions.

The two leaders also said that the decision about tabling a no-confidence motion against the Balochistan chief minister would be taken by the provincial chapters of their parties. In the case of Centre, they added, they were eyeing the Senate elections.

Also on Saturday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded full NFC share and told a press conference that they would move the court over the unconstitutional cut in the amounts to be transferred to the provinces.

Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif will convene an all parties’ conference on the issue soon after his recovery from the coronavirus infection to formulate a joint stance, he added.

The NFC Award would have to be followed as it is a constitutional mechanism, said the PPP chairman.

Bilawal also warned that no one would be able to control the situation if people came out on the streets over issues like the 18th Amendment, NFC Award, inflation and missing persons.

The PPP chairman criticised Imran for his recent statements about the 18th Amendment and the NFC Award, saying his assertions were actually against the 1973 Constitution. There won’t be any compromise on the 1973 Constitution, he made it clear.

Those who believe in the 1973 Constitution, NFC Award and devaluation of powers to provinces should leave the ruling alliance, Bilawal remarked.