Peace and prosperity of Balochistan top priority, say PM

Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said socio-economic development besides ensuring law and order in Balochistan is the foremost priority of the government.

Chairing the second meeting of National Development Council in Islamabad today (Friday), he said the government is fully cognizant to the feeling of deprivation among the people of Balochistan and all-out efforts are being made to remove this sense.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DGI ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, SPAM Lt Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Advisor on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and other officials attended the meeting.

The premier regretted that in the past, Balochistan was provided funds but their judicious use was ignored and a major portion of the province remained backwards that led to a sense of deprivation among the Balochistan people.

The prime minister said development project of Gwadar is not only important for Balochistan but is also a game-changer for the entire region.

He said the government completely acknowledges the sense of deprivation among Balochistan people and striving hard to redress these grievances.

He emphasized the need to develop roads and other infrastructure besides provision of job opportunities to the youth of Balochistan to benefit from Gwadar project in a realistic manner.

For this purpose, the prime minister also constituted a committee consisting Advisor on Finance and Chief Minister Balochistan. The Committee will review the required proposed projects including communication network, agriculture and power generation.

The meeting also accorded approval for the establishment of Balochistan Mineral Exploration Company to harness the mineral resources of the province.