LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and its political alliances Awami National Party and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party agreed on Thursday to fight against all ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unconstitutional’ action in Balochistan. The decision was made during a high-level meeting between the representatives of the three parties at Jati Umra. The meeting participants remarked that they will not accept the decisions made by a few people over the decision of the people. The meeting was attended by PM Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Nawaz’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Maritime Affairs Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, among others. The meeting discussed in detail the no-confidence movement against the former Balochistan CM Nawab Sanaullah Zehri last week. Zehri was forced to resign following a no-confidence motion against him which was supported by some PML-N members. Following the movement, Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, hails from the PML-Quaid, was elected as the new chief minister. The participants remarked that Balochistan is the province where political stability was needed the most. Once the stability was achieved through a reconciliation process, political turmoil was brought in overnight. During the meeting, the MPAs from Balochistan shared that the movement was held without bringing it into the notice of the parliamentarians. Those involved in the movement never mentioned that they were unhappy under the leadership of the former CM, pointed out meeting participants. The need for organising this movement mere four to five months before the general elections was also questioned. The participants also inquired when, where and how the decision to elect a new CM made. Some members claimed that electing a person who secured a few 100 votes goes against the spirit of democracy. Meeting participants said that such actions went against the democratic rights of the people of Balochistan, adding that this is an insult to the rights given to the people in the Constitution. Earlier in the day, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif presided over a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) meeting at Jati Umra. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had arrived in Lahore to attend the meeting. He was received by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the airport. Abbasi was accompanied by Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari, his adviser on finance, revenue, and economic affairs Miftah Ismail, and Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb. Others attending the meeting include Nawaz’s daughter Maryam, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique. On January 16, Nawaz Sharif, while speaking to the media outside the accountability court, remarked: “the Balochistan political issue needs to be taken seriously. “This is a sick joke with the people,” said the PML-N president, adding that he has summoned a meeting with the party’s Baloch leadership on Thursday to find out why this happened. The PML-N chief wondered how a person with 500 votes became the chief minister, adding that “this is a disservice to democracy, Pakistan and its people”. Last week, the PML-N government in Balochistan was rocked with a crisis as Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri was forced to resign following a no-confidence motion against him, which was supported by some PML-N members. Published in Daily Times, January 19th 2018.