ISLAMABAD: Nawab Sanaullah Zehri resigned as the chief minister of Balochistan two hours before a no-confidence motion was to be moved in the provincial assembly on Tuesday.

He met the governor and handed over his resignation to him. It was instantly accepted and the governor asked him to continue as the chief minister till the election of his replacement by the Balochistan assembly.

Two names of potential aspirants — Sardar Saleh Muhammad Bhootani and Jan Jamali — were mentioned for the office of the chief minister. Both belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Bhootani also served as the acting chief minister of Balochistan.

In his resignation letter, Zehri said that he did not want to create any destabilisation in the province and has stepped down for the greater good of Balochistan. “It is not my temperament to cling to the office unnecessarily. It is not easy to run a coalition government.”

Prime Minister Shahid Khakan Abbasi, who stayed overnight in Quetta to rescue Zehri, had advised him to quit because his continuation as the chief minister may cause cracks in the PML-N.

Not only the opposition — the Jamiate Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — moved the no-confidence motion, this resolution was also supported by some PML-N lawmakers and its allies — National Party and Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). These parties are likely to be part of the next government, which will remain in place only for four months before the next general election.

The prime minister reached the conclusion that if Zehri did not leave the office, he will be voted out, a development which will cause embarrassment to the PML-N.

Balochistan is plagued by violence, perpetrated by both militants and nationalist insurgents, who are fighting to keep a greater share of the revenues from gas and minerals in the province.

The province also forms an important leg of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor of energy and infrastructure projects that China hopes to build as part of its belt and road initiative.

Mir Abdul Qudoos Bezenjo, a former deputy speaker of the provincial assembly and one of the main instigators behind Zehri’s removal, told Reuters lawmakers sought to oust Zehri because of his “massive corruption” and “ignoring coalition partners.”

Zehri, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), rejected accusations of corruption.

Some political analysts saw the campaign to oust him as another example of the military interfering in civilian politics.

The military denies meddling in civilian politics.

The upheaval in Balochistan had led to speculation that the opposition might use the crisis to delay a national vote for members of the upper house Senate, due in March.