PM Shehbaz urges dialogue, fair resource share to resolve Balochistan issues

QUETTA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the issues facing Balochistan could only be resolved through dialogue, meaningful engagement and fair distribution of resources, stressing that violence and taking up arms could not provide a solution.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the Balochistan National Workshop in Quetta, Shehbaz said the purpose of dialogue was to listen to the people of Balochistan and understand their concerns.

“Problems can only be resolved through dialogue,” he said, adding that the people of Balochistan had the first right over the province’s mineral resources.

The prime minister said Balochistan faced genuine challenges but rejected violence as a means of addressing grievances. He stressed that differences should be resolved through dialogue and meaningful engagement.

Shehbaz also paid tribute to security personnel and other victims of terrorism, saying hostile forces were behind violence in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Highlighting development initiatives, he said the government was working on the N-25 highway linking Karachi with Chaman and stressed the strategic importance of Gwadar Port.

The prime minister said 22,000 agricultural tubewells in Balochistan had been shifted to solar power at a cost of Rs70 billion, with Rs40 billion contributed by the federal government.

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He said Daanish schools were being established in nine districts of Balochistan and reiterated that children across the province were equally entitled to quality education.

Shehbaz said federal support for Balochistan had also been increased under the NFC Award, while Punjab had provided Rs11 billion to the province.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Rs200 billion had been allocated for Balochistan under the federal Public Sector Development Programme out of a total Rs1 trillion allocation.

The prime minister said Pakistan’s IT exports had increased by 21 per cent and that rice growers had received a subsidy of Rs11 billion.

Shehbaz stressed that development could not continue without peace and stability and directed the petroleum minister to address gas load-shedding in Balochistan before the coming winter.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti thanked the prime minister for inviting representatives from the province to the workshop and welcomed the solarisation of agricultural tubewells.