Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti has appointed 11 dissatisfied members of the assembly as parliamentary secretaries, with 10 of them belonging to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). According to a government notification, Sardar Masood Luni of PML-N has been appointed as parliamentary secretary for forests and wildlife, while Barkat Ali has been appointed for fisheries and coastal development. From the PPP, Asfandyar Kakar and G.A. Deen have been made parliamentary secretaries for prosecution, Samad Khan Gorgage for law and parliamentary affairs, and Asghar Rind for energy department. Mohammad Khan Lehri of PML-N has been appointed as parliamentary secretary for excise and taxation, and Abdul Majid Badini of Jamaat-e-Islami for transport. Meanwhile, minority member Sanjay Kumar has been appointed as parliamentary secretary for minority affairs.

Political analysts attribute the large number of parliamentary secretaries to the dissatisfaction among assembly members. They speculate that since both major parties had a significant number of eligible candidates who were unhappy about not being appointed ministers or advisors, there was considerable pressure on the chief minister. Therefore, in order to ease this pressure, 11 members were appointed as parliamentary secretaries, effectively placating their grievances. Both major parties had also included some independent members under the condition that they would be given good portfolios along with inclusion in the cabinet. However, due to constitutional limitations, this was not possible, and hence, the discontent among assembly members persists. It is worth noting that while the Balochistan Assembly may be smaller in terms of numbers, its cabinet has often been sizable. Moreover, every member of the provincial assembly is a member of the provincial cabinet, as has been observed multiple times."

Credit: Independent News Pakistan