QUETTA: The president of the newly-formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Jam Kamal Alyani, has called for delaying the general elections up to the last week of October, saying that sweltering weather in different parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan, could negatively affect the electoral process.

He was speaking at a function on Saturday where a large number of people belonging to different political parries announced joining BAP.

He said absence of basic necessities in far-flung areas might hinder the electoral turnout.

Mr Alyani said his party would contest elections from across the country.

The party would change the destiny of the province if people gave it a chance to come to power, he said, adding: “We will take decisions for the people of the province which the previous governments hesitated to do.”

Mr Alyani said that though the party was new but highly experienced people and leaders who had served on different platforms were joining it. BAP was independent with the power of decision-making, he said.

Though all parties got the chance to form governments but none had the power of independent decision-making and it was because of this that the members of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) were compelled to switch over to this party, he said.

Jam Kamal further said that the party had a service-oriented programme which would address the problems of people.

Mir Sikandar Khan Umrani while speaking to people said that bitter experiences would crop up if political landscape of near past and present was analysed. Decisions regarding Balochistan had always been taken in Islamabad, Bilawal House and Banigala.

Political parties, he said, had reinforced their position by playing the Balochistan card. People were now aware of their political rights and BAP had been established keeping in view the political needs of the people, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2018