Senator Qasim Roonjho from the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has officially resigned from his membership in the Senate.
According to sources, Roonjho, the defecting senator from the BNP-Mengal, submitted his resignation to the Senate secretary.
The veteran senator's resignation comes a day after he, along with another party lawmaker, defected from the official party line and voted in favour of the constitutional amendments after which they later became law.
Qasim Roonjho was also the parliamentary leader of BNP-Mengal in the Senate. Roonjho and fellow party Senator Naseema Ehsan had voted in favour of the 26th Constitutional Amendment. Party chief Akhtar Mengal had asked both lawmakers to resign from the Upper House of parliament.
Earlier, Sajid Tareen, the acting president of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), had accused "government officials" of abducting Senator Roonjho, along with his son and driver.
Tareen further stated that there was also no contact with the husband and son of Senator Naseema Ehsan, who were also believed to have been picked up.
In response, lawyers' organizations in Balochistan voiced their opposition to the proposed constitutional amendments, claiming that the establishment was behind these changes. They argued that if this were not the case, such "abductions" would not be happening.
BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal had recently resigned from the National Assembly in protest, leaving the party with two senators.
