QUETTA: Confusion prevailed in the Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday as opposition members said that the province was facing a constitutional crisis because the governor and the speaker of the assembly were out of country and an acting governor had not been appointed.

Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said that President Mamnoon Hussain had nominated Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, Justice Mir Moham­mad Noor Meskanzai, for the post of acting governor.

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Deputy Speaker Mir Quddus Bizenjo presided over the session.

Opposition member Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran stirred the debate by saying on a point of order that Speaker Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali had gone abroad on May 16 and Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai was on foreign trip since May 17. “Since nobody knows who acting governor is, the deputy speaker should assume the responsibility,” he suggested.

But the chief minister insisted that there was no constitutional crisis in the province. “When governor and speaker are out of country, the constitution authorises the president to nominate acting governor,” he said and added that according to his information, he had appointed the chief justice as the acting governor.

He read the Article 104 of the Constitution stating that the president had the power to nominate any one as acting governor.

But opposition lawmaker Shahida Rauf claimed that after 18th amendment, the chief justice could not become acting governor.

Ruqiya Hashimi termed the ongoing session unlawful and said that the deputy speaker should go to the governor house and assume the responsibility.

But the deputy speaker referred to the statement made by the chief minister and said that the president, according to the Article 104 of the Constitution, could nominate any person as acting governor in the absence of the speaker.

Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai and Syed Liaquat Agha said that there should be no point scoring on the issue because it was a constitutional matter.

The leader of opposition in the assembly, Maulana Wasay, suggested that the house should seek opinion of the advocate general.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal opposed the proposal and said that Article 104 of the Constitution left no room for ambiguity.

Meanwhile concluding a debate on two identical adjournment motions pertaining to the attacks on Maulana Wasay and Adviser to the Chief Minster for Finance Mir Khaliq Lango, Dr Malik assured the house that the culprits would be arrested soon.

He said that it was the responsibility of the government to protect lives of people, including legislators, and maintain law and order in the province.

Those who participated in the discussion included Zamarak Khan Achakzai, Mr Khetran, Manzoor Khan Kakar and Dr Achakzai. They condemned the attacks on Mr Lango and Maulana Wasay.

The session was adjourned till Friday.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2015

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