TIMES REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to providing full resources for the development and prosperity of Balochistan and said all provinces must progress equally for the country to move forward.
Addressing participants of the “National Workshop Balochistan” here, the prime minister said the Rs300 billion project for a dual carriageway from Karachi to Chaman would be completed within the next one and a half to two years.
He said Punjab had contributed Rs150 billion to Balochistan under the NFC Award, while other provinces had also played their part in the province’s development.
He said Balochistan’s quota for laptops and scholarships had been increased by 10 percent, and the Kachhi Canal project would be completed on a priority basis. He said the solution to Pakistan’s problems lay in a transparent system of governance.
The prime minister said India was behind terrorism in Pakistan, and the country needed to confront this challenge collectively. He said Pakistan had tried to convince Afghanistan to take action against terrorist organisations and prevent its soil from being used against Pakistan.
The prime minister said Islamabad was home to people from all four provinces and welcomed the sons and daughters of Balochistan. He said Balochistan was the largest province of the country by area and its Baloch and Pashtun people had played a key role in the creation of Pakistan, with several princely states voluntarily joining Pakistan in 1947 and 1948.
He said although Balochistan was the smallest province by population, it was the largest by area, and its scattered towns and long distances required comparatively more resources for development. He said this was recognised in the 2010 NFC Award, when the other three provinces, particularly Punjab, voluntarily agreed to a 100 percent increase in Balochistan’s financial share, with Punjab providing 11 billion rupees annually since then, amounting to 150 billion rupees to date.
The prime minister said nearly 27,000 tube wells in Balochistan had been shifted to solar energy under a 75 billion rupee project, of which the federal government provided 50 billion rupees. He said the N-25 highway from Karachi to Chaman, long known for frequent accidents, was being converted into a dual carriageway using savings from reduced oil prices, and the route would become a road of peace once completed.
Referring to the killing of Mastung Sessions Judge Abdul Hakeem, the prime minister expressed grief and prayed for the deceased and his family. He said around 90,000 Pakistanis had been martyred in the fight against terrorism, and that terrorism had resurfaced after being largely eliminated by 2017-18 due to an organised conspiracy. He said Pakistan shared a nearly 2,000 kilometre border with Afghanistan and had repeatedly urged the Afghan interim government to act against terrorist groups operating from its soil, but it had failed to do so.
The prime minister said the armed forces and law enforcement agencies were making sacrifices for the country’s security, and that India had suffered a decisive defeat in a recent four day conflict. He said Pakistan’s diplomacy had also played a key role in restoring regional peace, earning the country international respect.
During a question and answer session, the prime minister said corruption in the FBR was depriving the national exchequer of resources, worsening poverty and forcing the country to rely on loans. He said 800 billion rupees were collected last year through sales tax and other indirect taxes, the highest ever collected, adding that only hard work, honesty and integrity, not shortcuts, could bring progress, citing Japan and Germany as examples.
On a question about the Kachhi Canal, the prime minister said 368 billion rupees had been allocated in the current budget for water reservoir projects, including the Kachhi Canal, and suggested it be renamed the Pakistan Canal.
Responding to a student from Chaghi district, Khalida Yousuf, the prime minister said he was proud of her and recalled distributing laptops to meritorious students during his tenure as Punjab chief minister, saying it was better to put laptops in the hands of youth than weapons. He said lakhs of laptops had been distributed nationwide, including one lakh last year on merit, with Balochistan’s quota higher than other provinces. He added that nine Danish Schools were being built in Balochistan with free education for poor and orphan children.
The prime minister said the people of Quetta, Kalat and Chaman would only feel satisfied once they saw the federal and provincial governments working together for Balochistan’s development in the same way as for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. He assured that resources for the province’s development, prosperity, education and healthcare would be ensured, and vowed to make Pakistan one of the most powerful nations in the world.
Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik and Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani were among those present.
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