QUETTA: A three-member tripartite coalition Government of Baluchistan, with Jam Mir Ghulam Qadir Khan of Lasbela as Chief Minister, was sworn in at a simple ceremony held in Governor’s House here today [April 27]. The Provincial Governor, Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti, administered the oath of office. Besides Jam Mir Ghulam Qadir … who belongs to the Qayyum Muslim League, the other two members of the new Cabinet who took the oath are Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Magsi of the Pakistan People’s Party and Syed Mohammad Hassan Shah of the Jamiate Ulema-i-Islam. Governor Bugti … told newsmen that he was satisfied that they enjoyed the support of the majority in the House and, therefore, he invited Jam Sahib to form the Cabinet.

[Meanwhile, as also reported from Quet­­ta,] leaders of the Opposition parties have reaffirmed in unequivocal terms that, under the banner of the United Democratic Front, they would strive hard to protect the country’s integrity, and achieve what they called the democratic rights of the people. The UDF leaders, who were addressing a huge public meeting … held the unanimous view that Pakistan was the creation of democracy and it was only through real democracy that it could be sustained.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023