The Upper House of parliament was informed on Wednesday that the government employees will get salaries on Thursday (today) while the issue of protesting employees of Accountant General of Pakistan (AGPR) will be addressed within a week. Responding to a question on behalf of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Leader of the House in Senate Jehangir Badar said that a commission had been formed and mandated to report within a week.
"We regret for any inconvenience...I assure the House that all the government employees will get their salaries by Thursday as the commission, which is being headed by former governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Ishrat Hussain has been tasked to resolve the issue", he maintained.
Later taking part in a debate over fragile law and order situation in restive Balochistan province, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri called upon the government to take concrete steps to resolve the issue, which had made life of common miserable.
The people of Balochistan, he added, were never treated at par with other parts of the country since independence, which had given birth to anarchy and militancy in the province. "Nobody including the incumbent (PPP) government is serious to resolve Balochistan issue and things become further worsened after Nawab Akbar Bugti's killing in a military operation during Musharraf regime, so there will be no peace unless the enraged Baloch leaders are taken onboard", he maintained.
He emphasised the need to take practical steps to control deteriorating law and order situation in the country, and added the performance of law enforcement agencies was not up to the mark. The JUI-F leader said that dreams of people had shattered as who had pinned high hope that a democratically elected government would eliminate sense of deprivation among people of Balochistan but in which the ruling junta badly failed.
"The issue is purely political and constitutional and it can be resolved when we'll end sense of deprivation...mere announcement of special packages and carrying out development work in the province is not enough at all," he maintained. Despite rich in all mineral resources, he added, Balochistan was still underdeveloped. Some national and international forces were creating hurdles to make fully functional Gwadar port as it would usher a new era of progress and prosperity not only in Balochistan but also across the country. Senator Surayya Amiruddin stressed the need that more development work should be undertaken to end the sense of deprivation and to make it sure that no injustice was being done with people of Balochistan.
"No doubt the government had announced a special package for Balochistan and released hefty uplift schemes besides recruiting around over 4,500 teachers but there is no let in kidnapping for ransom", she lamented. She said that many committees were formed on Balochistan issue to suggest amicable solution to the problem but in vain, adding that more jobs opportunities should be given to the people.
Senator Kalsoom Parveen said they were raising the issue in the House for the past 10 years and the issue would not be resolved by merely making debate rather it would need a concert strategy and serious efforts. She said that "we have to bring around enraged Baloch people to sort out any pragmatic solution to the issue." She said Aghaz-Huqooq-e-Balochistan package was announced for Balochistan but unfortunately it was not implemented in letter and spirit, and urged that all the political parties to join hands and play their active role to resolve the issue.
Senator Hafiz Hamdullah said Balochistan had vast reserves of natural resources besides five ports in the province. Several international powers have interests in the province due to its geographical conditions. He said as many as 600 Punjabis had so far been killed in the province while teachers and intellectuals were being targeted callously. Later the House was adjourned to meet again on Thursday at 10:30am.
Comments
Comments are closed.