Sarfraz Bugti of the Pakistan Peoples Party has been elected unopposed as the new Chief Minister of Balochistan, securing a total of 41 votes during Saturday’s election.
Mr. Bugti, who recently joined the PPP, submitted his nomination papers to Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah on Friday. He was proposed by PPP leader and former Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and PML-N leader Nawab Jangaiz Khan Marri.
After scrutiny, Mr. Bugti’s nomination papers were accepted, with the secretary announcing his unopposed election.
In the election, parties including the PPP, the PML-N, and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) supported Bugti. However, National Party (NP) MPAs and ten lawmakers from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) abstained from voting.
Notably, Bugti has served as a Senator and caretaker Minister of Interior, resigning from his ministerial role shortly before the election to join the Peoples Party. He contested the election on the party’s ticket and won from the PB-10 constituency in Dera Bugti.
Mr. Bugti’s election as Chief Minister has raised concerns among Baloch social and political circles, who fear that his alleged close ties to Pakistan’s military establishment and ‘state-sponsored death squads’ could intensify the ‘Baloch genocide’ and military operations in the region. It is notably concerning that Mr. Bugti has previously been quoted as suggesting that ‘Genocide is the only option in Balochistan’.