ISLAMABAD: A joint session of Parliament’s two Houses here tonight [April 26] approved the ruling party’s resolution extending Gov­ernor’s Rule in Baluchistan for another two months — the third and final extension al­­lo­wed by the Constitution marking the completion of six months of the Federal Government’s rule in the Province. It followed a … heated debate, with the Opposition severely criticising the Central Government’s handling of the situation in Baluchistan and the ruling party members, with Prime Minister Bhutto ... offering a forceful defence of the measure.

Replying to the Opposition’s main charge that the constitutional provision allowing Governor’s Rule … was being misused … endangering the integrity of the country — Mr Bhutto said the measures might be dangerous for the Opposition, but the people ... had derived satisfaction from it because it was taken to undo the conspiracy against the unity … of Pakistan. The majority of the Opposition members pleaded that attempt should be made to arrive at a political settlement of the Baluchistan problem in the larger interest of the country’s solidarity and integrity.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2026