'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has come to a standstill and has been facing unrest with several political and nationalist parties launching an indefinite blockade of all national highways from Wednesday against alleged rigging of the election results.
It also aims to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, with some authorities shifted to the proposed Constitutional Court, and immunity to the president from criminal proceedings for life.
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has included Mishaal Hussain Malik, wife of jailed terrorist and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, in his cabinet.
Bugti announced that he would support the Opposition in the wake of the no-confidence motion submitted against Imran Khan. Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf set to face a no-trust motion in the National Assembly.
Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively, the Election Commission of Pakistan said.
Kakar, a lawmaker belonging to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), will lead a caretaker government until a new election later this year.
The ceremony was scheduled to be held on Monday, but President Alvi had refused to administer the oath to the lawmakers, compelling the government to postpone it.
With Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually losing the majority in the 342-member National Assembly after the defection of two key allies, backdoor efforts are underway to reach a deal between the premier and the joint opposition to dissolve the lower house, according to a highly placed source.
The National Assembly session will be held at the Parliament House at 4 pm (local time), according to the schedule issued by the assembly secretariat. It also issued a 24-point agenda for the session and the no-confidence motion is fourth on the agenda.
The twin attacks came as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif along with his daughter Maryam returned to the country to face arrest in a corruption case.
Pakistan's National Assembly session was on Thursday adjourned abruptly till Sunday after opposition lawmakers demanded an immediate vote on a no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan who has effectively lost majority in the lower house.
'Under the circumstances, this announcement may remain limited to bravado and little else, adding momentum to Imran's narrative of victimhood,' points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become Pakistan's new prime minister as the coalition of leading political parties led by them is set to comfortably cross the simple majority mark to form the next government after elections produced a split mandate.
Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday summoned a special session of the federal cabinet amidst reports that two ministers belonging to the ruling coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan have resigned after their party announced that it will support Opposition's no-confidence motion.
Jailed ex-Pakistan premier Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates on Friday sprang a surprise by winning 86 seats out of the 201 results declared following unusual delays and allegations of rigging, as the country appeared heading towards a hung assembly.
He said alleviation of poverty from interior Sindh will be among top priorities of his government.
Talking to reporters in Islamabad, he said the Opposition has laid all of their cards, but the no-confidence motion against him would not be successful.
The newly-elected National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, is meeting to elect the prime minister.
India will need to watch carefully and understand the new round of instability and uncertainty in Pakistan, while charting the course of its future diplomatic initiatives, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said that they have the required numbers to form government.
The Pakistani military may shortly give Imran Khan the boot, substituting him with another puppet, predicts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Hafiz Saeed-backed Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) had fielded 265 candidates -- including 13 women -- countrywide.
A single party will need at least 137 of the directly elected seats to be able to form the government on its own.
Counting has begun for the election which will be the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year history.
Opposition leader Imran Khan's political party on Monday decided to withdraw its lawmakers from the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, piling pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit, even as efforts by the ruling PML-N to reach out to anti-government protesters failed.
PTI leader Naeenul Haq told media on Saturday night that consultations are on to complete the number game.
Protesting against enforced disappearances in Balochistan, Abdul Qadeer Baloch, 72, has led a small group that has covered more than 2,000 kilometres on foot, breaking the 84-year-old record set by Mahatma Gandhi during his Dandi march. Hamid Mir reports from Islamabad.
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