QUETTA, Nov 14: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has called all members of the Pakistan People’s Party in the Balochistan Assembly to Islamabad to discuss a crisis which erupted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Oct 12 interim order on the situation in the province.

According to sources, the PPP leadership has taken notice of the political crisis which has divided the party’s parliamentary group as was evident during the assembly session where a resolution reposing confidence in the leadership of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani was adopted.

The PPP has 15 members in the house of 65, including the chief minister. A group of MPAs headed by Sadiq Umrani, a member of the cabinet and the Balochistan PPP chief, did not attend the session.

However, a group headed by Mir Ali Madad Jattak voted in favour of the motion.

Mir Umrani said the prime minister had summoned the 15 PPP members of the assembly for consultation.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira has supported the Balochistan government and said the Supreme Court has no power to oust an elected government through an interim order.

The federal government has filed a review petition against the interim order regarding the PPP-led coalition government of Balochistan.

However, the PPP provincial council criticised the performance of the Balochistan government and demanded presidential rule in the province.

At a meeting presided over by Mir Umrani here on Tuesday, it said the Raisani government had failed to protect the people.

A resolution adopted by the council said that in the view of the verdict of the court on the performance of the provincial government, there was no constitutional and legal justification for the coalition government to remain in power.

It further said that despite the verdict of the court which had reviewed its performance in detail, the government was insisting on sticking to power although it had lost the right to do so.

“This government will soon meet its fate in view of the court’s decision.”

The council expressed serious concern over lawlessness in the province and said thousands of people had become its victims but the government had failed to arrest any accused involved in terrorist attacks.

It said the law and order situation was worsening and the government appeared helpless and unable to curb target killings, kidnappings and other terrorist activities that had forced hundreds of thousands of people to migrate to other provinces.

It said outlaws and criminals had become a permanent threat to the province but the government had failed to take action against them.

“In view of this situation presidential rule should be imposed in the province to secure the lives and property of people,” it demanded.

The council reposed confidence in the leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, praising them for foiling conspiracies against the PPP government and putting the country on the track of development.

It also urged the federal government to immediately take steps to compensate flood-affected people of Nasirabad and Jaffarabad,complaining that the provincial authorities had done nothing for their rehabilitation and the chief minister and the members of his cabinet had not even visited the districts.