UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
ISLAMABAD, June 14: The Baluchistan National Party-led coalition government in Baluchistan faces a no-confidence motion tomorrow for its opposition to Pakistan's nuclear tests late last month.
The no-trust motion has already been given to the provincial assembly speaker by the BNP's coalition partner, the Muslim League of prime minister Nawaz Sharif(PML-N).
The League, which has been trying for a long time to wrest power in the province, has found BNP's angry outburst against the nuclear blasts a good pretext to try again.
The PML(N) hopes to be supported by the Jhamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-Islam (JUI), the latter is part of the coalition.
Soon after the nuclear tests, BNP founder and chief organiser Sardar Ataullah Mengal had indicated that his party's government would quit because it was not consulted on the use of Chagai hills in Baluchistan as the site for the nuclear tests.
He had said what was the point in having a government in the province if it was not consulted ona matter as important as the use of the province's territory for nuclear blasts. He feared this would cause radioactivity and lead to migration of people.
Following this statement to BBC, many newspapers began speculating on the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
But last week provincial chief minister Akhtar Mengal told his coalition partners and allies that he was not asking for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. But the BNP continued to criticise the federal government's refusal to reply to the provincial government's objection. It boycotted this week's joint session of parliament called to debate the national emergency imposed after the nuclear blasts.
Sardar Ataullah Mengal, who asked the senators and members of the national assembly of his party to boycott the session, said it was to register his party's protest against the federal government's refusal to take the provincial government into confidence about the nuclear tests.
The session went on for four days without BNPparticipation. On the last day, when the emergency was approved, many other Baluchi members of parliament chose to keep away.
Reports from Chegai say that the nuclear blasts did cause radio activity which killed many goats and camels and caused nose and ear bleeding. One woman lost her eyesight. Meanwhile, prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is on a visit in London today urged his countrymen abroad to give money to his government to counter sanctions imposed because of the country's nuclear tests.
``There will be a lot of responsibility for Pakistanis living abroad,'' he said at a rally attended by several thousand members of Britain's Pakistani community.
Sharif, who is on a private visit to Britain until June 16 said, ``Send money but don't send it through illegal channels. Send it through banking channels.'' The crowd, waved banners saying ``Nawaz Sharif: hero of Pakistan'' and ``Welcome, pride of Pakistan'' and greeted him enthusiastically.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
