Bizenjo’s Deep Slumber

The Balochistan CM’s unusual sleeping habits and inaction has begun to irk his own party officials

Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Qudoos Bezenjo whose failure to manage the administration and law and order in the province has often been criticised by his opponents and political analysts, is now facing trouble within his own Balochistan Awami Party.

Bezenjo’s unusual and highly lamentable habit of going into a deep slumber for hours and hours each day has come in for scathing criticism from his own men now who are openly pointing fingers at his inaction over the crucial administrative matters.

The Chief Minister’s mysterious deep slumber has been the talk of the town for months now. However, this week his own party Secretary General and Senator Manzoor Ahmad Kakar spoke publicly and strongly about it to stun everyone within the ruling coalition and the opposition parties.

Besides criticising Bezenjo for his inaction on several tv shows, Kakakr released a video to expose the CM’s unusual sleeping habits which, he said, had made matter worse in Balochistan almost on every front.

“He is awake only in for four hours in the night when all the province is sleeping, otherwise he is found sleeping the rest of the 20 hours,” said Kakar in a recent TV show.

“How can anyone run the province in this manner? We will request Prime Minister Mian Shabaz Sharif to visit the flood affected areas during the night next time because our Chief Minister will be sleeping during the day,” he said in a mocking tone.

“The doors of Chief Minister’s office are closed for party workers and that was why his predecessor Jam Kamal, an otherwise respectable person, was replaced for he mantained a distance with the party workers and members.”

In the same TV show, Farah Azeem Shah, the spokesperson of Chief Minister denied that CM Bezenjo closed his doors for the party members and sleeps for the entire day.

She claimed that Qudoos Bezenjo is the most active Chief Minister the province ever seen and is working round the clock for the progress and prosperity of Balochistan.

However, her words were not enough to defend the sleeping CM since the whole province is now well aware of Bezenjo’s queer habit.

A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this scribe that CM Bezenjo missed his flights from Islamabad to Quetta for three consecutive days once because he couldn’t wake up till evening.

“He ultimately travelled by car from Islamabad to Quetta and the driver confirmed that the CM was asleep throughout the 1200km journey.”

The police official confirmed that the then IG Police and Home Secretary kept awake the entire night while getting hourly location of the CM motorcade, because of the terrible law and order situation at the time.

In another incident, when the agreement was being signed between the Government of Balochistan and the Canadian Barrick Gold Corporation in Islamabad in July this year, Bezenjo was conspicuous by his absence and even his personal staff didn’t know of his whereabouts.

The CM was finally found sleeping in a private apartment and was later brought to the Balochistan house in Islamabad to sign the agreement.

The CM rarely visits the interior of the province and even the flood devastated areas while Prime Minister Mian Shabaz Sharief and Corps Commander Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor have paid more visits to Balochistan compared to Bezenjo

After Kakar’s recent outburst against the CM, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani – who is known to be Bezenjo’s mentor – have tried pacifying the BAP Secretary and is making efforts for mending fences between peace deal between the two big guns of the party.

The party members close to CM Balochistan claim that Chief Minister Qudoos Bezenjo avoided to issue any rebuttal over his party’s Secretary General. They, however, quoted the CM as saying that Senator Kakar was pressurising him to get many of his legal and illegal work done.

But whatever the case, Kakar’s tirade against Bezenjo has resulted in a marked change in the CM’s routine, which could still be temporary.

The CM hurriedly planned an extensive tour of his home constituency of Awaran the other day and later inaugurated a Cadet College and some of the government development schemes.

IG Police and Chief Secretary Balochistan Abdul Khaliq Sheikh and Abdul Aziz Uqaili, both known to be Asif Zardari’s men, accompanied him the CM.

Bezenjo, 52, despite being under the spotlight for his inaction, does have a rare quality that he always shares whatever government resources are available for the province with his ministers as well as with the opposition and never holds them back.

Perhaps this quality of the CM has held his government together so far and nearly all the assembly members, barring a few, defend him at the various forum whenever he is castigated by the media and the critics.

Bezenjo ensures that each assembly member is free to get the officials of his choice for all government departments including district administration and the police.

The assembly members, after experiencing a Chief Minister like Jam Kamal who maintained strict discipline in the government departments, are relaxed about the autonomy they have at their disposal under Bezenjo.

The Chief Minister’s younger brothers Jamil and Wahab, who also act on his behalf in the key administrative matters, are often seen issuing directives through special secretary Lal Jaffar in the CM secretariat.