Abdul Quddus Bizenjo takes oath as Balochistan CM

• Governor Balochistan administers oath to chief minister.
• Abdul Quddus Bizenjo had bagged 39 votes.
• Bizenjo replaces Jam Kamal as new chief minister.

QUETTA: Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo Friday took oath as the new Balochistan chief minister after he was elected to the office unopposed.

Governor Balochistan Zahoor Ahmed Agha administered the oath to the newly-elected chief minister at the Governor House, Quetta, after he received 39 votes in the Balochistan Assembly.

After Jam Kamal Khan Alyani had resigned as the CM last week following political turmoil in the province, the BAP leadership had nominated Bizenjo for the top slot.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Qasim Suri, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, and members of the provincial and national assemblies were also present during the ceremony.

Bizenjo had gained the support of PTI Parliamentary Leader Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, who announced that he was pulling out of the race and backing Bizenjo for the CM's slot.

PTI's parliamentary party in the province had named Rind for the position of the chief minister.

Besides Rind, no other candidate in the provincial assembly had filed nomination papers to contest against Bizenjo.

"We will go ahead in consultation with all and take benefit from the experiences of whoever remained the chief minister," Bizenjo had said earlier in a statement.

Bizenjo had said that he wanted to work with other leaders of the province.

The newly-elected chief minister had said he had even tried to contact former CM Jam Kamal.

Bizenjo said he would announce the future policy of his government in tomorrow's assembly session.