LAHORE, March 5: The ruling People’s Party suffered a serious blow on Tuesday when its former Balochistan president, Nawab Lashkari Raisani, joined the rival Pakistan Muslim League-N, along with a group of 22 politicians.

Speaking at a press conference along with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, the brother of deposed Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani said the situation in his province had forced him to review his political affiliation and he had chosen the PML-N platform to continue his struggle for “supremacy of the Constitution and parliament and for autonomy of the provinces”.

Mr Raisani praised slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and said she had a vision and commitment to the country, citing the Charter of Democracy signed with Mian Nawaz Sharif. But he regretted that the commitment was lost when the PPP came to power under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari. In reply to a question, he said he believed that only a democratic and parliamentary system could steer Balochistan out of the present crisis and he wanted to work to this end from the PML-N platform. Had there been any option better than the parliamentary system, the situation in Balochistan would have improved after the imposition of governor’s rule, he added.

Mr Raisani had resigned as PPP’s Balochistan president and as member of the Senate in April last year in protest against the party’s attitude towards the province as well as dumping of mutilated bodies of missing persons.

Some political analysts believe that Aslam Raisani, and not Lashkari, holds sway over the Raisani tribe, one of the major clans in Balochistan, and his joining of the PML-N has only a symbolic importance. But the situation will change altogether if Aslam Raisani supports his younger brother’s shifting of loyalty.

The analysts think that the move will help the PML-N rope in or at least attract more electables from Balochistan, where the party had been unsuccessful in the last elections.