Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak Thursday said all six of the points raised by Balo
chistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) have been thoroughly discussed and agreed upon by the government.
“BNP-M is an ally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and its six points
will be implemented in true letter and spirit,” Khattak said while addressing a joint press conference with BNP-M Chairman Akhtar Mengal at the Parliament House.
Regarding the development about the agreement between government and the BNP-M, the minister said the media
will be informed in this regard. He said there was delay in implementing the six points of BNP-M but the government is sincere in meeting the demands. He said the six points include the issue of missing p
ersons, water shortage, quota for the Baloch youth in government departments and repatriation of the 2.5 million Afghan refugees.
Khattak said a committee has been constituted to address the missing p
ersons issue. He said soon there
will be good news about the missing p
ersons. He said the government
will ensure that the local people in Balo
chistan do not turn into minority in the process of development of Gwadar Port. He said measures
will be taken for construction of more dams in Balo
chistan, adding that six percent quota of the Balo
chistan youth in government departments
will also be ensured.
Khattak says all six points of BNP-M
will be implemented in true letter and spirit
Khattak said the issue of electricity in Balo
chistan is being resolved on permanent basis and solar system
will be installed in the province. He said the government
will provide Rs 9 billion subsidy to the government of Balo
chistan on electricity and the duration of load shedding
will be three hours a day.
The minister said the government has no intention to abolish the 18th Amendment of the constitution as it does not have two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, so the opposition should stop spreading rumours on the matter. He said the government does not enjoy majority in the Lower House to make amendments in the constitution.
On the occasion, Akhtar Mengal said Prime Minister Imran Khan has assur
ed them about progress on missing p
ersons’ issue and other matters. He said the prime minister also told them that neither Balo
chistan’s share in National Finance Commission award
will be cut nor the 18th Amendment be rolled back.
Mengal said a committee of parliamentarians should be constituted to prepare a report on the problems being faced by the people of Balo
chistan. He said that he has suggested to the prime minister that a committee of political leaders be sen
t to Balo
chistan to properly understand the grievances of the people there. “Once it returns, the committee should present a report to the parliament and then whatever decision is taken on the matter
will be acceptable to us,” he added.
The BNP-M, which is a partner of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, had earlier threatened to abstain from voting on the budget, warning that it
will go with whoever could address its grievances. The announcement had sparked a flurry of activity from the government, which has a thin majority in the National Assembly and needs all the numbers it can muster ahead of the budget vote. Despite all that, however, the BNP-M had stayed away from the all-parties conference organised by the opposition a day earlier.