QUETTA: PM Imran Khan while chairing a meeting of the provincial cabinet held here today stated that the progress of Pakistan was linked with the development of Balochistan.
PM assured that the federal government would extend every possible cooperation to Balochistan in the financial crisis being faced by it.
The prime minister said the Federal Government in collaboration with Balochistan authorities will end backwardness in the province. Imran Khan said a comprehensive strategy would be worked out for an early progress of Balochistan in the light of proposals to be submitted by the Provincial Government.
The prime minister asked the members of Provincial Assembly to do an effective legislation for resolving problems of the people in the province. He also stressed the need for taking measures on a priority basis to meet the water scarcity in Quetta city.
Imran Khan said CPEC is being reviewed afresh to safeguard rights of all the provinces. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain, Federal Minister for Planning Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, and Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Naeem ul Haq and Special Assistant on Media Iftikhar Durrani were also in attendance. Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal welcomed the Prime Minister and expressed gratitude to him on taking a special interest in the situation of Balochistan.
Earlier, the Provincial Chief Secretary briefed the Prime Minister on socio-economic development projects in the province.
Relevant piece: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday chaired a meeting of Balochistan cabinet in which he was briefed about different uplift projects aimed at the economic and social uplift of the province. Chief minister Jam Muhammad Kamal welcomed the prime minister on behalf of his provincial cabinet members and expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for taking a keen interest in affairs of the province, PM office media wing in a press release said. The meeting was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Minister for Planning Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and special assistant to PM on political affairs Naeemul Haq and special assistant on media Iftikhar Durrani.
Relevant Piece: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday said his government was committed to bringing a positive change in lives of the people of Balochistan, as it believed that progress of the country’s largest province was directly linked to the prosperity of Pakistan. Addressing a gathering of retired judges, members of civil society and senior officials here at the Governor House, he said his party was against the progress of a selected group of people, a particular area or a certain segment of society as it violated the basic principles of justice and equality. Imran Khan regretted that the previous governments and different political parties exploited the deprivation of the people of Balochistan for their personal gains and did little in practical terms to improve the lives of the common man. He asked the political leadership of Balochistan to rise to the occasion and bring about a real change. He mentioned the success of his party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and attributed it to the success of its local government system. Khan urged the local leaders to emulate the Village Council model of KpK, saying that they need to be provided funds directly to enable them to serve the people and address their basic issues. The local leaders were the best judges of the problems of the people of their areas and they were needed to be empowered fully, he added. He was appreciative of the commitment shown by Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal and his team and expressed confidence that they would fully exploit the potential of the resource-rich province and bring it at par with the developed areas of the country. The prime minister said completion of Kaachi canal would irrigate 0.8 million acres of land and help the province and the country address it’s food security concerns. He extended full support of the federal government to the provincial government in addressing any shortcoming in building its capacity. He pointed to the brain drain from Balochistan due to acts of terrorism in past and said with improvement in the situation, people would return. He said there was an urgent need to establish a cancer hospital in Quetta so that the people did not have to travel far to get treated. He said he would soon chair a meeting for a feasibility of the project and send a team of Shaukat Khanum hospital for initial study in this regard. The prime minister said he had also discussed the issue of provision of health facilities with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had assured to assist the provincial government in meeting any shortage of doctors. Prime Minister Imran Khan said no nation could progress without eradicating corruption from all tiers of society. Corruption erodes national economy and destroys state institutions, he added. He said today Pakistan was under a heavy debt of Rd 28000 billion, up from Rs 6000 in ten years, just because of rampant corrupt practices. The prime minister cited the example of China which threw behind bars around 400 of its ministers and hundreds of thousands of government officials who were involved in corrupt practices. He said today majority of the government-run corporations were running in losses of billions, because the previous governments appointed their cronies on hefty packages, without any consideration. He said it was the time that the provincial government focus on fully exploiting the estimated Rs 450 billion worth of minerals, besides benefiting from the Gwadar port and it’s oil and gas reserves. He assured that Balochistan would get more than its due share in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor owing to its strategic location. He said he would keep in regular contact with the leadership of Balochistan to ensure that the dividends of progress reach out to each and every area of the province.
Relevant Piece: A parliamentary delegation of Balochistan National Party BNP (Mengal group) Saturday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan. The delegation included Senator Jehanzaib Jamaldini, Sana Baloch and members of the provincial assembly, PM office media wing in a press release said. During the meeting, six points of political parties included in the coalition government, economic and social progress and prosperity, welfare of the people of Balochistan, elimination of corruption and ensuring of transparency were discussed and the resolve was expressed for the continuation of efforts to achieve the set targets. Separately, the senior leadership of provincial chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also met Prime Minister Imran Khan at the CM secretariat. The delegation included lawmakers from Balochistan.
Relevant Piece: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday said Pakistan could not progress unless its undeveloped areas were given attention, similarly progress and prosperity of the country were linked to Balochistan.
Instead of focusing on a particular or limited area, attention should be given to the uniform development of the whole country, the prime minister said during a meeting of the provincial cabinet.
The prime minister regretted that in the past, unfortunately, the previous governments neglected this factor and the province had to suffer, PM office media wing in a press release said.
He also underlined the role of the provincial government in this regard and said the province was gifted with natural resources.
The prime minister resolved to fully exploit true potentials of the province and said Balochistan would be made a stakeholder in this journey of progress and prosperity.
“It is my vision, if Balochistan rises, the whole country will feel its results,” he added.
The prime minister assured that the federal government would fully support the provincial government in health, public welfare, education, and other uplift projects.
He also highlighted the significance of Local government system, saying it was imperative for the uplift of the province.
He was of the opinion that no country in the world aspires to achieve development without a sound local government system because in this system, the local populace could judiciously utilize the development funds.
The prime minister also observed that terrorism in the province was a reason for brain-drain in the province.
He also assured that under China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Balochistan would get its extra share out of its resources due to its strategic location.
He assured that for deployment of teachers and specialist doctors, they would take steps to assist all the stakeholders in this regard.
The prime minister said for the establishment of a cancer hospital, experts from Shaukat Khanum hospital would be sent for assistance.
He said he would keep in touch with the provincial government and the political leadership to ensure pace on the development of Balochistan.
Earlier, Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Kamal welcomed the prime minister on behalf of his provincial cabinet members and expressed gratitude to the prime minister for taking a keen interest in affairs of the province.
The prime minister was briefed about different uplift projects aimed at the economic and social development of the province.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ch. Fawad Hussain, Minister for Planning Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and Special Assistant to PM on Political Affairs Naeemul Haq and Special Assistant on Media Iftikhar Durrani.
