Former Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on Wednesday that he did not believe that he was barred from contesting elections as he had resigned from the cabinet. He added that he joined the caretaker government to take certain bold decisions that politicians are reluctant to take.

Speaking in Spotlight on Aaj News on Wednesday, Bugti said that he had not intended to run for elections when he had joined the caretaker government.

He said that he had been a part of the senate and his brother and cousins had been planning to contest the election.

Bugti said that he had thought he could better serve Pakistan by joining the government and taking ‘bold’ decisions that political governments cannot take due to certain political reasons. He mentioned Afghan repatriation as an example.

When asked if he was aware of the the Articl 224 that prohibited caretaker ministers from participating in elections, Bugti replied that he is no longer a minister and thus free to contest elections.

He said that the interpretation he had found only prohibited caretaker ministers from contesting the election while they were in office.

Bugti said that the interpretation could go to the high court or the Supreme Court but it might not be needed as he had resigned before the election schedule was announced.

Asked about reports that he was almost joined the PMLN before suddenly announcing that he had joined PPP, Bugti said that it was due to the nature of politics in Balochistan.

He added that in Balochistan, small groups form before elections which could be considered ‘like-minded’. He said there was no permanent friend or enemy in politics and he had no enmity with either PPP or PMLN.

Bugti said that terrorism is a huge challenge and had risen by 78% in the last 10 months. He added that Pakistan was once again fighting a war already won sue to the previous government’s policy of accomodating terrorists.