QUETTA: Mohammad Aslam Bhootani, an independent MNA elected from the Gwadar-Lasbela NA-272 constituency, has decided to quit the ruling coalition and join hands with the opposition trying to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan through a vote of no confidence.

“I have decided to leave the government alliance,” Mr Bhootani told Dawn on Monday night.

He has taken the decision after a meeting with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. “I and my family have very old relations with Asif Ali Zardari and I cannot ignore him,” Aslam Bhootani said, who joined the PTI-led government in 2018 when Imran Khan came to power and supported it for over three and a half years.

Mr Bhootani was elected as an MNA after obtaining 70,000 votes — the highest in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2022