QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said on Wednesday that the provincial government was in contact with the opposition over the issue of caretaker chief minister and both sides were likely to finalise a unanimous name by June 3.

“Legally, the tenure of the Balochistan government will last till June 3 and we are optimistic that the provincial government and the opposition will reach a unanimous name for the post of the caretaker chief minister by June 3 or we will refer the matter to a parliamentary committee and the Election Commission of Pakistan,” Mr Bizenjo said.

“We stick to names of three candidates we have proposed to the opposition for the post of the caretaker chief minister and the opposition has also shown its trust in our names,” Mr Bizenjo claimed.

Referring to the provincial government’s resolution seeking one-month delay in the general election, the chief minister said Balochistan had a sprawling landscape where a National Assembly constituency was bigger than the entire KP province and because of time shortage in upcoming elections and the sizzling weather, the voter turnout in Balochistan would be less while the government wanted to allow maximum number of people to use their right to vote.

On the issue of water scarcity across Balochistan, especially in Quetta and Gwadar, the chief minister said that ground water level had dropped alarmingly and despite provincial government’s repeated requests to the federal government to help the province resolve this vital issue, the federal government had shown no interest in the matter.

After getting frustrated over the lethargy of the federal government on the water issue, the chief minister said, the provincial government had signed several MoUs with Chinese companies and the FWO for provision of 25 million gallons of drinking water in drought-stricken cities of the province.

Besides, he said, the provincial government had allowed Russian companies to carry out cloud-seeding operations for artificial rain in Gwadar.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2018