Addressing a group of reporters in the provincial capital Quetta, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan said his cabinet had not seen the 2021 annual budget before it was presented in the assembly. “Our cabinet had not seen the budget. The cabinet saw the budget on [June] 18, and at around 4 or 5 pm we brought it here [to the assembly].” Kamal’s comments immediately engendered confusion on social media, leaving many wondering that if the government had not seen the budget, then who made it?
Jam Kamal Khan chastised the opposition for “wrongfully objecting” to Balochistan’s annual budget for the year 2021, which was presented in the provincial assembly a few days ago and led to a widespread outcry. Opposition members have gathered in the police station at the Bijli Road in Quetta, boycotting the assembly to protest against what they call the “dysfunctional” budget.
“If someone says that budget was wrong, I ask them this: If the government did not know about the budget, the cabinet and members [of the assembly] don’t know, then how is it that the opposition knew what the budget contained?”
The video clips from the chief minister’s address spread like a wildfire on social media. Hundreds took to Facebook and Twitter, calling the comments “shocking” and questioning if Kamal is actually in charge of the government.
Senior Pakistani Journalist Hamid Mir was quick to point out. “[Kamal’s] statement is a charge sheet not against anyone else but himself. He is saying that the budget was not prepared by his cabinet but somehow a premade budget was sent to him”, Mir said in a tweet.
Activist and lawyer Jalila Haider said in a tweet: “Kamal and his cabinet have not seen the budget; then who prepared it? Who passed it [in the assembly]?”
Similar tweets and statements came from various other individuals, including prominent politicians and journalists, who questioned the very legitimacy of Jam Kamal’s government. Many capitalized on the opportunity to point out that Kamal is just a “figurehead” – installed in power by Pakistan’s mighty military to occluded Baloch nationalist parties from attaining power in Balochistan.
“Well, at least Jam Kamal himself pointed out the obvious fact: the budget of the Balochistan government is not made in Balochistan, but made and sent by the GHQ”, one user said.