QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch told the provincial assembly on Wednesday that law and order was an important issue and his government was giving top priority to the matter.

Responding to the issues raised by legislators in the house, the chief minister said the law and order situation had improved in the province after the formation of his government.

He praised law enforcement agencies and referred to a recent action taken by security forces against terrorists in the Bolan Medical Complex which saved several precious lives.

He expressed the hope that the situation would improve further.

Dr Baloch said his government would not tolerate negligence by government officials and warned that stringent action would be taken against negligent officials.

He said his government believed in elimination of corruption while its predecessors were themselves involved in malpractices.

The chief minister said there were no differences amongst coalition partners over expansion of the cabinet and said a committee had been formed to look into the matter.

Speaking earlier on points of order, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal, Syed Reza Agha, Mir Asim Kurd, Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai, Sarfaraz Bugti, Maulana Abdul Wasay and Zamarak Khan Achakzai condemned recent killings of four people at Masjid road and three at Khudadad chowk in Quetta.

They said the government should take appropriate measures to counter the attacks of terrorists and extremists. Some forces had been fomenting sectarian violence in order to create a law and order situation in the province, but it was the responsibility of the government and law enforcement agencies to protect lives of citizens, they said.

The house offered Fateha for the departed souls.

Earlier, speaker Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali administered the oath to Mir Ghulam Dastagir as member of the assembly.