ISLAMABAD - The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources has sought help from Baloch tribal elders and politicians to do away with the security concerns of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) to carry out oil and gas exploration and production activities in the area to meet the energy needs of the country.
The committee met here on Thursday at the OGDCL head office under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas to discuss the exploration and drilling activities with special reference to the province of Balochistan and the performance of the OGDCL during the last five years.
It noted that Balochistan had great potential for oil and gas reserves and called for making a conducive environment to carry out exploration activities in an appropriate manner and suggested that parliamentarians and tribal elders should play their due role in facilitating the OGDCL in exploration activities.
The committee underlined the need for intensifying efforts to explore new reserves of oil and gas to meet the growing demand and bridge over the supply and demand gap to protect the common man from the impact of unprecedented hike in the prices of petroleum products. It was pointed out that surging oil prices had far greater consequences for developing countries like Pakistan than the developed ones.
Members of the committee were of the view that there was a dire need to intensify search for new reserves as the previous ones had been depleting at a fast pace.
They recommended that the OGDCL should also go for offshore ventures, as there was huge potential in that area to meet the future demands of the country.
It also constituted a subcommittee, which will comprise senators from Balochistan with a view to remove the bottle necks in the way and address the security concerns.
Senator Dilawar Abbas opined that world was energy hungry and Pakistan should strive to enhance the reserves by working on both the offshore and onshore exploration activities.
The committee observed that quota reserved in recruitment for Balochistan should be implemented strictly and trainees must be selected from that area where the discoveries were being made.
Earlier, Chairman OGDCL informed the committee about the steps taken to improve the working and performance of the OGDCL and the new discoveries of the oil and gas made during last few years.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Business/11-Jul-2008/Baloch-elders-help-sought-for-oil-gas-exploration
Commentary from Baloch unity.org
Baloch will never allow Pakis to explore or exploit their resources with their free will, let alone the way they are already taking away Baloch gas, coal, gold, silver, uranium and many other precious metal and none metal minerals from Balochistan absolutely giving nothing to Baloch people in return.
Which stupid Baloch leader will ever think of allowing Pakistani to exploit Baloch mineral resources without sharing Baloch people? Pakistani State must answer to Baloch people of their past history before bagging Baloch to give more of their resources for throw away prices. What did the Bugtis got of their gas, humiliation, destruction, intertribal wars imposed by the Paki agencies between Bugtis and other Baloch?
What about Saindok project? How much Baloch are getting from there? There are hundreds of such questions and examples under Pakistani occupation. All those Baloch elected or selected leaders have to answer before Baloch nation who ever tries to appease the Pakistani occupation forces and signs any illegal papers concerning future of Baloch and their natural resources, will face nothing less the death.
Pakistan has been exploiting natural resources of Balochistan since 1952. Yet there is no account of billions of dollars’ of the price of those riches earned by Pakistan. If Balochistan was an independent country like Gulf States the people had a share in the riches of their land.
But under occupation their land is still at the Stone Age. For that matter even Musharraf and Zardari regretted that the previous governments have not made any development in Balochistan. After 56 years exploitation the existing energy resources are near depletion. Now that the prices of oil are increasing rapidly Pakistan wants Baloch elders to help her security needs for exploration of new gas and oil fields in Balochistan.
The time has come that Baloch elders instead of becoming mercenaries of Punjabi establishment join hands with the liberation forces of Balochistan.As great Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Shaheed said "What is on the land belongs to us. What is underneath belongs to us. What is in the sea belongs to us (Baloch)."
Respected Baloch elders,
All the riches of this golden land belong to your children and to your children's children. Don't sell these riches to occupiers for peanuts |
