QUETTA: The coalition government in Balochistan, led by Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is showing visible cracks only a year and a half into its tenure.
PPP’s own leaders have gone public with grievances. Provincial minister Mir Ali Hassan Zehri, elected from Hub, openly criticised Bugti during a ceremony in Winder. He accused the chief minister of ruining PPP’s reputation, sidelining workers, and playing a “double game” by presenting himself as both PML-N’s and PPP’s chief minister. Zehri, considered close to President Asif Ali Zardari, had earlier raised objections right after taking oath, but party leadership had reconciled the differences. His latest remarks have reignited tensions.
Another PPP figure, parliamentary secretary for transport Mir Liaquat Lehri, blasted the government during an assembly session. He said unemployment had spread from Chaman to Gwadar, shopkeepers could not pay rent, and the transport sector was collapsing. “I am a minister myself, yet I feel powerless to solve public issues,” he told lawmakers. Lehri later alleged he was facing retaliation for his speech.
The ruling coalition’s biggest partner, PML-N, also expressed discontent. Nawab Changez Marri announced he would fully support a no-confidence motion if one is brought against Chief Minister Bugti.
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Observers say Balochistan’s political history is filled with similar upheavals. Past chief ministers, from Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch in 2013 to Jam Kamal in 2021, lost office due to rifts within their own coalitions. Analysts believe the fresh wave of dissent could be linked to a reported PPP–PML-N agreement to rotate the chief ministership every two and a half years.
For now, Bugti insists he can overcome the dissent. But ministers and allies challenging him publicly have sparked new political turbulence, raising the question: Can he survive, or is Balochistan headed for another shake-up?
