* Applauds Pakistan’s return to Commonwealth
* Home minister says BNP joined PPP coalition in return for ‘absolute provincial autonomy’
* Demands new Gwadar residents be denied right to vote for at least 60 years
By Malik Siraj Akbar
QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Friday welcomed Pakistan’s reinstatement to the Commonwealth and demanded that it be made a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) through a parliamentary resolution.
Balochistan Law Minister Rubina Ifran tabled a resolution for the province’s entry into the CPA in the House, which met with Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhuttani as the chair. Rubina lauded Pakistan’s re-entry into the Commonwealth following its expulsion for the emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007.
She said Pakistan’s return to the Commonwealth would help the country promote multilateral co-operation in several spheres of life. The House unanimously passed a resolution recommending that the Balochistan Assembly be granted membership of the CPA with the formal approval of the Commonwealth Executive Committee.
Founded in 1911, the CPA, which was then called the Empire Parliamentary Association, consists of the national, provincial, state and territorial parliaments and legislatures of the member countries of the Commonwealth.
Autonomy: Also on Friday, the Balochistan Assembly was briefed by Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri about a post-election ‘understanding’ signed between his party, the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Awami), and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Presenting the signed agreement, he said that the BNP had demanded the PPP government provide “absolute provincial autonomy” to the federating units as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution. He said the National Finance Commission (NFC) award should be distributed among the provinces according to new formulas, adding that the existing yardstick of population for resource distribution should be abolished. “We want poverty, backwardness and the total provincial area to be used as indicators for determining the NFC, saying that justice should be provided to smaller provinces,” he said.
The House was informed that the PPP also agreed to give 50 percent of the revenue generated from the Gwadar Port to the Balochistan government. He said the ongoing military operation should be stopped immediately, adding that a political settlement should be hammered out.
He claimed that the province was not receiving the jobs at the Centre that had been promised to it under its prescribed quota. “We demand that only Baloch should be appointed at the Gwadar port on any posts of grades one to 18 to help end unemployment,” he added. He said the BNP also wanted the Gwadar Port chairman to be a member of its party.
No vote: Zehri said that non-locals who choose to reside in Gwadar should be denied the right to vote for more than 60 years to ensure that the local population does not become a minority due to an influx of outsiders. He said that the federal government should permanently settle the issue of Gas Development Surcharge. He also demanded the restoration of Levies force, compensation to the flood-affected people of the Mekran region and an increase in the number of Baloch ambassadors.
MPA Mir Zahoor Hussain Khosa drew the attention of the House towards the incomplete Rs 9 billion road project from Dera Allah Yar to Khair Din, which was approved by the federal government in 2003. The 40-kilometre project was intended to connect the area with the Dera Ghazi Khan Road, so farmers of the region would have access to better communication facilities.
He said that the project had not only started two years late, it was also progressing very slowly, causing problems for locals. “Though some sections of the road have been completed, they are breaking down due to the use of substandard material and the remaining sections are a source of constant trouble for the farmers and transporters,” he said. Provincial Communications Minister Sadiq Umrani assured the assembly that he would personally look into the issue, adding that he would ensure the completion of the project by the end of 2009.
Khosa also criticised the Health Department for curtailing funds for Jaffarabad district. “Due to shortage of funds in the Health Department, the state of hospitals in Jaffarabad is deplorable. The government blocked 50 percent of the funds allocated for Health in the last fiscal year,” he claimed.
However, Balochistan Health Minister Aneullah Shams refuted the charges, saying that all due funds had been provided to the Jaffarabad Health Department and the complaints were not genuine.
The Balochistan Assembly would meet again on Monday.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008 517story_17-5-2008_pg7_25 |
