Balochistan Assembly defers move to abolish Sardari system

QUETTA: A resolution seeking the abolition of the Sardari system in Balochistan, moved by Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, could not be taken up by the provincial assembly on Thursday as the house deferred its entire agenda following the death of former provincial education minister Sardar Nisar Ali Hazara. Deputy Speaker Ghazala Gola, who presided over the sitting, announced that, in recognition of the late lawmaker’s services to the province, the assembly would adopt a condolence resolution and defer all other business until the next sitting. Sardar Nisar Ali Hazara passed away in Quetta on Oct 20. A large number of people, including prominent Hazara community leaders, political figures and others, attended his funeral prayers. The deputy speaker said that, in accordance with parliamentary tradition, the sitting would be limited to a prayer and a condolence resolution in honour of the deceased, while the remaining agenda would be taken up at the next sitting. Adopts resolution paying tribute to late education minister Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch moved a motion seeking the postponement of the assembly’s proceedings until Monday, Oct 26, in recognition of the late former MPA’s services. The house approved the motion, following which the deputy speaker announced that the remaining agenda would be deferred until the next sitting at 3pm on Monday. Presenting the condolence resolution, Mr Baloch said the house expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of Sardar Nisar Ali Hazara, a former member of the Balochistan Assembly, who passed away on Oct 20. Mr Hazara was elected to the Balochistan Assembly from constituency PB-2, Quetta, in the 1997 general elections and subsequently served as provincial education minister. The resolution paid tribute to his valuable services to the province, stating that his death had deprived Balochistan of a hardworking and capable politician. It also extended heartfelt condolences to his family and prayed that Almighty Allah grant the deceased a high place in heaven and give patience to the bereaved family. The house unanimously adopted the resolution, after which the deputy speaker adjourned the sitting until 3pm on Monday. The resolution seeking the abolition of the Sardari system is now expected to be taken up on Oct 26. It may be recalled that a resolution calling for the abolition of the Sardari system was first moved in the Balochistan Provincial Assembly on June 8, 1972, when Sardar Ataullah Mengal was chief minister of the province’s first coalition government, formed by the National Awami Party (NAP) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI). Fazila Aaliyani, a female member of the NAP, moved the resolution, which called for the eradication of what it described as exploitative and outdated institutions, particularly the Sardari, jirga and tribal systems, to promote social and economic progress in the province. Since the provincial assembly lacked the constitutional authority to abolish the system directly, the resolution called on the federal government to take legislative action. The federal government subsequently enacted the System of Sardari (Abolition) Act, 1976, during the tenure of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Mr Bhutto had announced the abolition of the Sardari system in Balochistan while addressing a public meeting at Quetta’s Liaquat Park in April 1976. The then governor of Balochistan, Khan of Kalat Mir Ahmed Yar Khan, was also present. Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026