ISLAMABAD: The Federal government has taken corrective measures in shape of 7th NFC Award, Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan, 18th Amendment and substantive allocations for development projects has been made to address sense of deprivation of Balochistan.
Addressing the inaugural session of Balochistan Development Forum, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared that Balochistan was close to his heart, and despite constraints, the federal government provided substantial resources to supplement the efforts of the provincial government to address the needs of its people.
The PM said that the federal government was also financing and implementing a number of projects in Balochistan to address major gaps in infrastructure, as well as human development indicators in the province.
He mentioned construction of M-8 (Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab and Khuzdar-Ratodero) and N-85 (Hoshab-Basima-Sorab), which he said would greatly improve its connectivity with the country.
Prime Minister Sharif said that the federal government had also launched a project at a cost of Rs4 billion, in collaboration with the provincial government, for construction of houses for earthquake victims of Awaran District.
To meet the electricity demand of Balochistan, he said a 300MW power plant was planned to be setup in Gwadar, while two additional transmission lines 220 KV Dadu-Khuzdar and 220 KV DG Khan-Loralai had already been completed.
The Prime Minister said allocation of Federal PSDP (Public Sector Development Program) this year for Balochistan had been substantially enhanced with Rs61 billion which was 37 percent higher than financial year 2012-13.
He added that Rs15 billion had been earmarked in PSDP 2014-15 as a `Special Development Package’ for Balochistan, which was the highest amongst all provinces.
Nawaz Sharif said Balochistan enjoyed central position and could become a regional hub for trade in goods and energy with its strategic location making it pivotal both for the East-West and North-South trade routes.
He said that Balochistan was going to be the main beneficiary under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and mentioned that developing Gwadar Port, Gwadar Port City, a modern new airport, and improved inland connectivity would make Gwadar a hub of national and regional trade.
He said the share of Balochistan had been significantly increased from 5.11 to 9.09 percent in the 7th NFC award to ensure steady and predictable flow of financial resources and recognizing the relevance of the principle of inverse density.
He said during the current financial year against the budget estimates of Rs162 billion, about Rs80 billion had been transferred to the Government of Balochistan. In addition, Rs 120 billion were being released to the provincial government under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan at the rate of Rs10 billion per annum from financial year 2010-11.
The Prime Minister said in the last financial year, for the first time ever, the federal government released 100 percent funds to Balochistan for its development and non-development activities.
“Let me assure you, that the Federal Government will continue to do its best to support the development strategy of Balochistan,” he said.
The Prime Minister said to promote higher education facilities in Balochistan, universities at Lasbela, Quetta, Loralai and Turbat were being financed. COMSAT Institute of Technology is being setup at Jafferabad and special provision has been made for scholarships for the students of Balochistan under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package, he added.
He said Reko-diq had huge copper and gold deposits which would bring in prosperity for the people of Balochistan. He said federal government was determined to give full support to the provincial government to resolve the issue of Reko-diq at the earliest and to start the project in the shortest possible time.
