QUETTA: The Balo­chistan National Party (BNP-Awami) split into two groups on Friday as both groups held their party conventions separately in Quetta and levelled serious allegations against each other.

Former senator Mir Israrullah Zehri, who is leading his own group, expelled Syed Ehsan Shah, senior vice president of the party, along with five other party leaders from the party, accusing Mr Shah and others of violating the party constitution and working to protect their own interests.

Mr Shah, the sitting MPA of the BNP-Awami, was elected the member of the Balochistan Assembly on the party ticket in the July 25 general elections.

On the other hand, Mr Shah organised workers’ convention of his own group and announced that Mir Israrullah Zehri had lost the trust of party workers and majority of central councillors and was, therefore, no more the president of the BNP-Awami.

Speaking at a press conference after the workers’ convention of his group, Mr Shah said that participants of the convention had decided to hold a two-day central council meeting of the party on Jan 26 and 27.

He said that after the no-trust in the leadership of Mr Zehri by the party’s majority of central councillors, he had taken over as the acting president of the party.

On the other hand, Mr Zehri and Central Secretary General of BNP-Awami claimed that on violation of repeated party discipline by Mr Shah and other five party leaders, more than 200 central councillors of the party passed a unanimous resolution to abolish the party membership of Mr Shah and five other leaders.

The Central National Council also unanimously elected Mir Asghar Rind the senior vice president of the BNP-Awami.

They alleged that some elements wanted to divide the party to protect their own interests, but the party would not allow these elements to do so.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018