Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to end the “sense of deprivation” amongst the people of Balochistan by launching a series of development projects with focus on energy, agriculture and communications among other sectors.
“Ensuring peace, security and socio-economic development for the people of Balochistan is government’s key priority,” he said while chairing the second meeting of the National Development Council in Islamabad.
Khan also constituted a three-member committee to suggest priority areas for development in Balochistan. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh are the members of the committee. The meeting also approved the setting up of the Balochistan Mineral Exploration Company for suitable utilisation of mineral resources of the province and boost exploration activities.
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The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmooud Qureshi, Asad Umar, Hammad Azhar, Ports and Shipping Minister Ali Haider Zaidi, Minister for Energy Omer Ayub Khan, PM’s advisers Hafeez Sheikh and Abdul Razak Dawood and CM Alyani. Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Special Assistant to the PM on Information Lt Gen (Retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa and DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed also joined the meeting that reviewed in detail several projects related to the national development agenda.
The members agreed to improve and ensure facilities for irrigation, agriculture, energy and setting up of special economic zone in Gwadar to attract investments and accelerate economic growth.
“The development of Gwadar Port would prove to be a game changer for not only the people of Balochistan but for the entire region,” the premier said. The completion of the Gwadar Port and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would open avenues of employment and businesses opportunities that would benefit the youth of Balochistan.
Weapon-free city
The Integrated Gwadar Smart Port City Plan (2017-2050) envisages Gwadar to become a city of the future with high technology industries, man-made islands, beach resorts, science and technology parks in the tax-free zone and weapon-free city which will boost the city’s economy to $30 billion annually creating 1.1 million jobs. It predicts that the population would grow from around 300,000 to 2 million in the next 30 years and households from just under 16,000 to over 250,000.
Renewing commitment to offer relief and services to the people, the prime minister regretted that financial resources allocated for Balochistan in the past were never diverted towards the progress of the province that led to dismal state of affairs provoking a sense of deprivation among its people. The country’s largest province hosts only 5 per cent of the total population sparsely spread across the vast impoverished region facing a dearth of jobs and economic opportunities for decades.
