Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has directed the Balochistan government to accelerate work on the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan and ensured timely completion of development schemes approved under the Prime Minister's Special Initiative.
Chairing a high level meeting to review the progress on Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan here on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said that to avoid the over run cost of the projects, priority should be accorded to the already approved schemes and the provincial government should be more focused on its approach towards constructing water reservoirs, so as to bring more land under cultivation in the province.
The meeting which was attended by Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raeesani and other members of the Balochistan Cabinet discussed at length various aspects of Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan and its positive impact on the Balochistan's economy.
The Prime Minister also directed the Balochistan government for early completion of verification/selection process for employment of 10,000 persons to enhance its share both in the provincial and federal government services. The meeting was informed that more than six thousand applications have been received for 5,000 jobs announced by the Prime Minister and necessary scrutiny is underway to ensure transparency and merit in the selection process.
Chief Minister of Balochistan thanked the Prime Minister for his special attention towards addressing the longstanding issues of his province. He said that the economic progress of his province after completion of the projects launched under the Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan would go a long way in addressing the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan.
The meeting also discussed the issue of the salaries of provincial Police and was informed that additional funds are required to bring their salaries at par with the police of other provinces. The Prime Minister directed the provincial government to liaise with the Finance Ministry in this regard.
The Prime Minister said that his government is making concerted efforts to enhance financial capacity of the Balochistan through a number of schemes. He said that out of 50 percent share of the federal government, 30 percent share has been handed over to the provincial government with the sole objective of financial empowerment of the province.
Increase of Balochistan share in the gas companies was also discussed in the meeting. The meeting was briefed that out of a list of 998 missing persons, which was published in the media, only 62 families have so far confirmed missing of their family members and accordingly the provincial government is trying to locate these people through the Ministry of Interior and other security agencies.
Progress of special schemes approved by the Prime Minister under "Peoples Works Programme" was also reviewed in the meeting. It was stated that Rs 1.5 billion have already been disbursed to the province for schemes under "Peoples Works Programme" while orders for release of the remaining Rs 1.5 billion have been issued.
Public Sector Development Programme was also discussed in the meeting. The provincial government requested the Prime Minister that the cut proposed in the PSDP schemes on account of enhanced allocations to the provinces under the new NFC award should not be applied on projects announced for Balochistan.
The Prime Minister inquired about the progress of his special "Quetta Package" amounting Rs 3 billion. He said that he intends to visit Quetta soon to inauguration the project.
The provincial government also thanked the Prime Minister for his special attention to harness the full economic potential of Gwadar port. It was stated in the meeting that 81 ships had berthed at the port to date and 81000 trucks transported the cargo upcountry without any incident.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to complete construction work on the remaining portion of the road connecting the port with other parts of the country. He also inquired about the feasibility of drinking water schemes to the port city. Three projects namely Shadikor Scheme, Sunsar Scheme and Swarzai scheme for provision of water to Gwadar were discussed in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by senior provincial Minister for P & D Maulana Abdul Wasey, Ministers for Finance Mir Muhammad Asim Kurd, C&W Mir Sadiq Umrani, Irrigation & Power Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, Youth Affairs Captain (Retd) Abdul Khaliq Achackzai, Population Haji Toor Utman Khail, Industries Syed Ehsan Shaha, Revenue Board Eng. Zamurk Khan, Home Mir Zafar Zehri, Begum Parveen Magsi, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and IT, Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa and senior officials of the province.