A disqualification petition has been filed in the Balochistan High Court against Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo after a video showed him distributing money to the participants of the 'Give rights to Gwadar' movement.
Advocate Amanullah Kanrani moved the disqualification petition against the chief minister for distributing cash among protesters. The petition said: “The Chief Minister does not comply with Article 62 and 63 after paying money to protesters".
مولانا ہدایت الرحمن صاحب، یہ کیا معاملہ ہے؟@MHidayatRehman https://t.co/ln87fEH5c0
— Absar Alam (@AbsarAlamHaider) December 16, 2021
In defence, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government said that Bizenjo distributed money among poor women and children outside the protest area. He added that providing financial assistance to poor women is a tribal tradition in Balochistan, reports the Dawn newspaper.
On Friday, the Give rights to Gwadar movement in a tweet had also tried to defence Bizenjo. The tweet said: “The movement has nothing to do with the Balochistan Chief Minister's video. On his way back after the agreement, the Chief Minister met a few women and children on the way and suddenly distributed the money. The movement had no such demand and had nothing to do with the process”.
حق دو تحریک کا وزیراعلی بلوچستان کی ویڈیو سے کوئی تعلق نہیں
معاہدے کے بعد واپس جاتے ہوئے وزیراعلی اس وقت وہاں موجود چند خواتین اور بچوں سے راستے میں ملے، اور اچانک غیر متوقع طور پر ازخود پیسے تقسیم کیے۔ تحریک کا ایسا کوئی مطالبہ تھا نہ اس عمل سے کوئی تعلق ہے۔ ترجمان حق دو تحریک pic.twitter.com/QlFWbbmXQT— Haq Do Tehreek – حق دو تحریک (@HaqDoTehreek) December 17, 2021
The video showing the Baloch chief minister distributing money became controversial as his government and the Gwadar protestors, asking for basic rights like water, power and restoration of livelihoods, had reached an agreement just a day earlier.
The Gwadar ko Haq Do movement initiated by Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch had completed a successful 33-days of mass protest in the port city where China is building the multipurpose Gwadar port.
Many of the demands by the protestors were against the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the ambitious joint project has curtailed the livelihoods of the local Baloch people.