ISLAMABAD:
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Saturday asked Balochistan parliamentarians and public representatives to propose solutions to the socio-economic problems facing the province and its people.
Chairing the maiden meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan in the Parliament House, Qaiser said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) started from Gilgit-Baltistan and culminated in Balochistan, increasing the importance of the province.
“Balochistan and its problems are always a priority of the incumbent government,” he said. “Parliament and public representatives are the best option to put forward solutions to the socio-economic problems facing Balochistan and its people,” he said.
“Pakistan’s progress is linked to peace and progress in Balochistan,” Qaiser said, stressing the need for the committee to look into the issues of ensuring transfer of the real benefits of CPEC to the local people.
Committees in the parliamentary system all over the world, Qaiser said, played a recommendatory role and therefore this committee would do everything possible to recommend the best possible solutions to the problems facing Balochistan.
The speaker mentioned that the issuance of an order for immediate implementation of 6% employment quota in all federal departments underlined the seriousness of Prime Minister Imran Khan in addressing the problems of Balochistan.
On the occasion, the speaker formed a sub-committee of four members, headed by Dr. Fehmida Mirza, to develop comprehensive Framework of Reference (ToRs) covering all issues related to Balochistan. It was also decided that a representative from the Balochistan National Party and Defense Minister Prevaiz Khattak would be invited to assist the sub-committee in developing the ToRs.
Vice Chairman Qasim Khan Suri appreciated the speaker’s initiative to constitute the special committee.
He noted that the government was seriously looking at the solution of the problems facing peace and development in the province.
Mirza, the inter-provincial coordination minister, told the committee that Balochistan’s issue had always been the parliamentarians’ top priority.
She pointed out that comprehensive ToRs were essential to make the Committee more effective. Khattak said the government had taken various steps to mitigate the grievances of the people of Balochistan.
Representing Balochistan National Party (BNP) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, National Assembly legislator Agha Hassan Baloch claimed that Balochistan’s problems had intensified since 2006 and needed to be rectified immediately.
He called for an inquiry into the recommendations suggested after a meeting between the former parliamentary committee headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
Published in The Express Pakinomist, June 28th2020.
