ISLAMABAD: Observers of the Balochistan political scene were stunned when 14 members of the Provincial Assembly, mostly belonging to the treasury benches, filed a no confidence motion against the Chief Minister, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, seeking his ouster from the post.

To a surprise one of the MPAs belonging to the National Party, a coalition partner, and erstwhile Adviser on Finance was one of the signatories.

Following the pressure from the top leadership, Mr. Langov took the back seat and virtually stopped all his activities in connection with the no confidence motion of which he was said to be one of the prime movers. The party leaders insisted that Mr. Langov will support the Chief Minister and oppose the motion though he was one of the prime signatories.

There is a visible revolt in the main ruling party and some of the Ministers and Advisers tendered their resignations and become the movers of no confidence motion against Nawab Sanaullah Zehri who remained the undisputed leader of Muslim League (Nawaz) during the current constitutional tenure of the Government.

The PML-N leaders at the Centre and in the province are claiming that it is a serious move to sabotage the scheduled Senate elections aiming at denying a legitimate share in the Senate elections from Balochistan to the PML-N so that it should not gain majority in the Senate of Pakistan during the next constitutional tenure of a new Government.

PML-N is the dominating party in the Punjab and Sindh where PPP is ruling Sindh and PTI governing the KPK. The mass defection from the PML-N in Balochistan made it doubtful that the party will retain majority with the help of its trusted allies—the National party and the PMAP.

However, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, off and on, claimed that he is in majority and enjoying the support of 47 MPAs and thus he will defeat the motion on the floor of the house.

The Balochistan crisis placed serious question marks following the recent developments on the political scene which is already unstable and unclear.

Undoubtedly, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri is a strong and a powerful leader the PML-N ever had in place like Balochistan. In his presence, it was definite that the PML-N will win majority seats from Balochistan in the scheduled Senate elections.

Presumably, he was the main target of his opponents to remove him first and later on inflict a humiliating defeat on the ruling party. In such a situation in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country, the future of PML-N is doomed.

His opponents claimed that they are still in the PML-N and developed differences with the Chief Minister, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, on political and policy issues. But they lack the capability to lead the party making it acceptable to majority of the people of Balochistan. Thus removal of Sardar Sanaullah in a no confidence motion will irreparably damage the Party minimizing its chances to return in the next elections.

Another faction of PML-Q is in a comfortable position as it enjoyed all the perks and privileges in the past and now they are part of the powerful and serious move to dislodge the Chief Minister by supporting the No Confidence Motion.

The PML-N is already in total disarray as it has no leader at the provincial level after Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, the man who confronted his political opponents boldly. Most of the PML-N leaders and their influence are confined to their own political constituencies and they command no influence outside their area of political operation.

It seems that the no confidence motion had another target in disguise and that is the coalition Government itself in presence of PMAP which is apparently become misfit in the developing regional security scenario. If this assessment of political pundits is true and valid on the ground, then the future of Balochistan Assembly is doomed paving the way for a caretaker Government in the garb of direct Central Government rule with replacement of the Governor also. Most of the rulers had disapproved the Afghan policy of Mr. Mahmood Khan Achakzai and considered it controversial and not in favour of Pakistani establishment.

In such a situation, the prime loser will be the National Party and its MPAs enjoying massive perks and privileges in the present system both at the Centre and Balochistan.

The BNP had posed a serious challenge to the National Party in all its political constituencies where Akhtar Mengal is addressing massive public meetings in which tens of thousands of people attending those meetings. Thus the BNP is out to settle its score with the National Party in all Baloch constituencies by curtailing its influence in a big way.

The JUI-F is seems to be firm to support the No Confidence Motion against the Chief Minister and thus it is playing a crucial role in Balochistan politics. It will take revenge from the PML-N leaders in the Province for denying perks and privileges during the current constitutional tenure by keeping the party out of the coalition. It is for the second time that the JUI remained out of power in Balochistan and the JUI was replaced with PMAP. It enjoyed power in Balochistan for the past four decades.

There is a serious concern over the chances of political instability in Balochistan where political turmoil is on its peak and the culminating point will be Jan 9 when the Provincial Parliament will discuss the no-confidence motion on the floor of the House.