LAHORE: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch on Sunday said that no foreign company would be able to loot the valuable resources of the province, adding that the benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be of great value to the local residents. Addressing a special press conference here, Malik said that the CPEC was a multidimensional project, and its effects should first reach Gwadar, then Balochistan, and then avenues to progress will be opened for the rest of the country. He acknowledged that the insurgency in the province was a cause of instability, while the core issues of poverty and underdevelopment were the underlying reasons.The chief minister said political reconciliation was the only solution to the insurgency issue, for which a reconciliation plan devised by his government had recently been sent to the federal government for approval. Continuous efforts were being made to engage all the stakeholders and bring them to the negotiating table, he added. He said as a result of the freehand given to him by the political and military leadership, the situation in Balochistan had substantially improved during the last two years with the crime rate reducing by 40 percent due to collective efforts. Enumerating the accomplishments under his tenure, Malik talked at length about the reforms in health and education sectors, including vaccination of 3.5 million children for measles and being the first province in the country to achieve polio-free status.“Balochistan is on track to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals and a number of pro-public steps have been taken for public welfare.” He said the work on export promotion zones in the province was in progress with land being awarded for the purpose. Five new medical colleges and two universities had been set up in the province and he had requested Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to give admission to all students from Balochistan in educational institutions, Malik added. He also mentioned that 5,000 teachers were being recruited in Balochistan through NTS which was an important event in the history of the province. He said a former member of judiciary had been appointed as the chairman of Balochistan Public Service Commission with the approval of all parties. Similarly, he said, through ‘School Bharo’ and ‘Goodbye to Cheating’ campaigns, a considerable improvement had been brought about in the education sector. Malik said despite being the member of a small party, he, as the chief minister, enjoyed full support of the PML-N and other political parties which was a big change in itself.Replying to a question, he said work was in progress on the Katchi Canal project which would make 0.7 million acres of land cultivable, adding that Balochistan had the capacity to store double the amount of water than Tarbela Dam. He expressed his frustration over the lack of water supply in the province and urged the federal government to build dams and undertake efforts to ensure fair distribution of water.He said with the help of the National Highways Authority (NHA) and the federal government, mega projects were being executed from Loralai to DG Khan and Zhob to DI Khan, while Ecnec had approved a project worth Rs11 billion for Gwadar. Export promotion zones from Gwadar to Pasni and Jiwani, as well as Gwadar airport, were being set up with the cooperation of China, he added.Malik expressed the confidence that Reko Diq and other mining projects would be completed speedily. Stressing the need for increasing resources of Balochistan, he said the total budget of the province was Rs45 billion whereas a sum of Rs55 billion was required for education only. He said measures were being taken on a war footing to resolve the energy crisis and the Centre had extended more help and assistance to the province than the past. Referring to Balochistan’s abundant gold, copper, and bauxite reserves, the chief minister lamented that the previous governments had not used the state resources for public use. Public ownership of mega developments, including the CPEC which connected Gwadar with the Chinese city of Kashgar, was badly needed for wealth to trickle down to the grassroot level. At least, Rs300 to Rs400 billion were needed for infrastructure in Balochistan, whether in the form of loan or grant, from the federal government, said Malik. He hoped such efforts would increase the cultivable land in the province and the economic contentment ending hatred for Punjab.The problem of economic marginalisation could not be addressed overnight and it would take at least 10 years to see the impact of the current policies and reforms, he noted. Talking of his party, Malik said the National Party was being organised in 20 districts of Punjab and the party had planned to hold a grand convention on its anniversary, which would be attended by 20 different parties and unions. The National Party had a presence in all the four provinces and was the only party committed to establishing a progressive welfare state in Pakistan, said the chief minister. Responding to different questions, he said his government was aware of their powers under the 18th Amendment to sign contracts with foreign investors and stated that international bidding on the Reko Diq mining project would resume after the stay placed by the Supreme Court was lifted. Talking about the disadvantage to Balochistan in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Malik said the formula should be based on the area mass instead of population, thus giving the province a bigger share. “It is a shame that some parts of Balochistan receive only two hours of electricity a day despite being the major provider of energy,” he added. He regretted that out of Rs190 billion generated in revenue from resource exploration in the province, only Rs20 billion were pocketed by the provincial government while the remaining amount was taken by the federal government. Malik demanded more share for the provinces and suggested that the federal government should cut its share and give more money to the provinces.He said the constitutional term of the NFC Award was coming to an end but it seemed that the new award would not be agreed upon in the current year. Malik condemned the massacre of labourers in Turbat and said all out efforts were being made to identify and arrest the culprits. He admitted that his government was facing difficulties in establishing its writ in the province due to the insurgency. However, he claimed that the issue of sectarian violence confronted by the Hazara community had declined in recent months. Malik added that the cases 13 out of 14 high profile terrorist attacks had been solved.Referring to the alleged RAW involvement in fuelling the insurgency, the chief minister stated that it was up to Pakistan to raise the issue at the regional level with friendly countries. He said the plan to fight terrorism and foreign interference had been made and the implementation would start once approved by the federal government.Earlier, Malik called on Shahbaz to discuss matters of mutual interest, the country’s situation and promotion of inter-provincial harmony.
