Balochistan urges centre to stick to original trade route
5
QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Saturday, calling upon the federal government to recognise the rights of the people of Balochistan over its resources and cautioned that ignoring the province in designing development projects had deepened the sense of deprivation prevailing among the masses.
The resolution urged policymakers in Islamabad to stick to the Quetta-Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan route to link Gwadar to Kashgar under the Pak-China Economic Corridor project.
Speaking on the resolution, the movers criticised the federal government’s attitude towards the problems of Balochistan and said it was interested only in the resources of the province and was not ready to accept just demands of its people.
They regretted that the federal government had been “deceiving the Balochistan people in the name of Pakistan and Muslim brotherhood”.
Taking part in the debate, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Manzoor Kakar, Hammal Kalmati, Sardar Abdur Rehman Khetran, Zamarak Achakzai and other members said Balochistan had no say in the process of designing development projects related to it.
They urged the federal government to include the provincial representatives in the process of decision-making on matters related to Balochistan.
Initially, they said, the federal government had planned to link Gwadar to Kashgar through Quetta, Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan but now it was changing the route and ignoring areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The movers urged the government to stick to the original plan and start laying rail track on the route to expand trade with Central Asian states via Afghanistan.
Supporting the resolution, Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said his government would take up the matter with the federal government and expressed the hope that the issue would be resolved through mutual understanding.
Mr Malik assured the house that his government would never “compromise” on Balochistan’s rights on its resources and coast.
Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play
