QUETTA: Former senior vice president of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami) Syed Ehsan Shah has formed his own party, the Pakistan Nati­onal Party (PNP-Awami), after developing differences with the central leadership of his previous party.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, he said the new party would follow the philosophy of late Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo and would struggle for legitimate rights of the people of Balochistan.

The decision of forming the new party was taken at the first council session of the new party. The session was held in Turbat the other day.

Mr Shah served as a finance minister for five years in the Nawab Raisani-led coalition government. He was a senior leader of the BNP-Awami and was elected as an MPA on the party ticket in the July 25 general elections.

Mr Shah, who was elected as the president of the new party, said the party sought to expand its political struggle to clinch provincial rights because “we want to unite all Baloch nationalists under the PNP-Awami’s banner as it is the only party that can achieve this goal”.

“The PNP’s vision will be to secure the rights of all suppressed nationalities of the country,” he said, adding that this was the political philosophy of Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo and the party would implement it.

He said that political parties of Balochistan had been doing politics with a specific slogan “but our party will be a little different and it will defend the soil of Balochistan”.

Referring to provincial issues, Mr Shah said that Islamabad should address the missing persons’ issue in accordance with the country’s law and the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2019