QUETTA: National Party (NP) president Dr. Malik Baloch has criticised the allotment of thousands of acres of land on lease to non-residents in Chagai and Dalbandin areas and demanded of the government to cancel the allotments.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, he said allotment of land to outsiders was tantamount to violating the rights of local population.

The land in Chagai and Dalbandin was rich in natural resources and the government had no right to allot it to people who didn’t belong to the province, he said.

The NP leader also assailed the handing over of Gwadar port operations to China and said signing of the agreement was violation of the 18th Amendment.

He alleged that the federal government instead of handing over the port to a Chinese firm should have given its control to provincial government for the protection of the coast and the resources of Balochistan.

He criticised the senators, MNAs and MPAs of Balochistan who were given millions of rupees for the development projects but they did not spend it in their respective constituencies.

A large area in the province lacks educational and health facilities but the government or the elected representatives have not taken any interest for the benefit of people.

The NP president said the federal government has failed in resolving the Balochistan issue adding that it should be tackled politically for the restoration of normality in the province.