QUETTA: Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani of the Pakistan People's Party took oath as the 12th chief minister of Balochistan on Wednesday and subsequently the provincial assembly in its session held in the evening gave vote of confidence to the newly-elected chief minister. Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhootani was in the chair.
Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi administered the oath of office to Chief Minister Nawab Raisani at the Governor House. People belonging to different shades of life witnessed the oath-taking ceremony.
Earlier, the Balochistan Assembly elected Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani as the Leader of the House and the legislators congratulated him. The legislators belonging to different politico-national and religious groups hoped that the chief minister would come up to the expectations of the house and the people of Balochistan.
The MPAs belonging to the JUI-F, PML-Q, like-minded group, Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) and Awami National Party (ANP) assured their unconditional support to the chief minister in putting the province on the track of development and for maintaining law and order. Thanking the house, the chief minister, who secured 57 votes in the move for vote of confidence, sought cooperation of all members of the assembly for the resolution of the people's problems. He assured the house that his government would take all possible measures for maintaining law and order in the province. "We will have to initiate dialogue with those who have taken the guns in their hands." He said the PPP government in Balochistan would restore peace, adding, the government would serve the masses without any difference of colour and creed.
"The settlers, who have been living in the province since decades, are our brothers and we will ensure protection to their lives and property. We will allow everybody from other provinces to invest in the province but we will not grant them the right to vote," Raisani said.
He said the federal government should not only understand the problems of Balochistan but recognise the rights of the province. Raisani said those who were damaging the railway tracks and power supply towers should understand that it was financial loss of Balochistan. He quashed all new appointments in the government departments that had been made by the caretaker government.
