Balochistan MPs stay put as govt withdraws their names from FIR

Though the Balochistan government has withdrawn their names from the First Investigation Report registered against the opposition parliamentarians, but the opposition members still stay put in the police station, saying they will not leave the precincts without a formal notification to be issued by the provincial government, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

It was the 11th day on Thursday that Balochistan Assembly opposition members were not leaving the Bijli Ghar police station in Quetta. They have assembled there to court their arrests after the Balochistan government lodged an FIR against them for creating ruckus in the provincial assembly on the eve of budget presentation in the provincial assembly. 

According to SSP investigation, the names of opposition members had been taken off from the FIR but the opposition MPs insisted that they would leave the police station after a notification from the government. 

Balochistan Chief Minister Jamal Khan Kamal claimed that his government had withdrawn FIR against the opposition lawmakers. He was of the view that opposition was divided itself. He said one group wanted to end its sit-in at police station while the other group refused to budge. 

CM Kamal resolved to face the FIR lodged by the opposition against him. He said he could have put this condition before the opposition to first withdraw FIR against him then he would take back his FIR against them. “But I did not do this,” he added.

He advised the opposition to come out of the police station precincts and resolve issues on the floor of the assembly for which they had been voted. 

According to the directive of the Quetta police station, the names of the Balochistan opposition leaders have been deleted from the FIR. The police found contradiction in the evidence provided against the opposition MPs after seeing the video footage of the assembly. The police did not find any solid evidence against the nominated MPAs. So, the police have taken off the names of 17 MPAs nominated under section 169 CrPC. 

On the day of the budget presentation in the Balochistan Assembly on June 18, the government lodged 18 FIRs against 17 opposition members for creating melee and ruckus in the assembly. On June 19, the opposition MPs reached Bijli Ghar police station to court their arrests. Police were reluctant to arrest them and the lawmakers decided to sit there till the police arrested them.

Opposition leader Malik Sikandar said though the government mediatory committee had withdrawn the FIR but the government still had not issued any notification in this regard. He said that the opposition would start a province-wide movement against the Balochistan government. 

Reporter Rizwan Saeed