Allauddin Marri takes oath as caretaker CM of Balochistan

QUETTA: Allauddin Marri took oath as the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan in a ceremony in the provincial capital on Friday.

Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai administered the oath to the interim chief minister at the Governor House.

A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) nominated Mr. Marri as the caretaker CM after the outgoing government and opposition failed to pick a consensus candidate for the slot.

Additional Secretary ECP Akhtar Nazir announced the name of interim Balochistan CM during a press conference in Islamabad.

On Wednesday, a meeting of the committee was held in the provincial capital Quetta which remained inconclusive as the government representatives boycotted it.

The committee was formed after Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and opposition leader Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal failed to pick a consensus name for the post of the interim chief minister.

The former provincial government had suggested the names of Sardar Shoukat Popalzai and Alauddin Marri for the post of caretaker chief minister while the opposition had nominated Mohammad Aslam Bhutani and Ashraf Jahangir Qazi.

The candidates were scrutinised during an ECP meeting, headed by the chief election commissioner.

The parliamentary committee had forwarded the matter to the ECP to decide and announce the final name.

Former chief ministers Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and Nawab Sanaullah Zehri as well as Syed Agha Liaquat reached the Assembly Secretariat for talks, but the other side did not show up and the meeting could not be held.