QUETTA: An important ally of the Balochistan coalition government opposing the merger of the Levies force with the police department challenged the decision in the provincial high court on Monday.

On Saturday, an official notification was issued announcing the decision of the merger of the two forces in Quetta, Lasbela and Gwadar which was done in view of the security situation, according to Mir Liaquat Ali Shahwani, a spokesman for the Balochistan government.

Mabat Kaka, Awami National Party’s (ANP) provincial secretary general, filed a petition in the Balochistan High Court on Monday in which he pleaded that the provincial government had violated the Balochistan Levies Force Act, 2010, without bringing the matter to the Balochistan Assembly and getting the assembly’s approval and hence the court should cancel the merger notification issued by the home department.

According to Asghar Achakzai, parliamentary leader and provincial president of the ANP, the government headed by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani had not taken the ANP into confidence on the merger decision.

In July 2018, the ANP along with the Hazara Democratic Party had pledged their support for the Balochistan Awami Party for the formation of a coalition government in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2019