Balchistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch. PHOTO: REUTERS
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch lamented on Saturday that he was running an economy of conflict amid external interference in the province’s affairs.
Addressing participants of the National Security & War Course, currently on a visit to the provincial capital Quetta, Dr Malik proposed that a political solution be adopted to resolve the Baloch conflict, because “there is no military or other solution to it”.
He said that being a political activist, he believed in the political settlement of all unresolved issues and opposed the use of force at any stage. “The provincial government has already announced the policy of a ‘Peaceful Balochistan’, and I am determined to make Balochistan peaceful as soon as possible.”
He accused “hostile powers” of interfering in the affairs of Balochistan with an aim to “cause instability in the region”. He said he was making hectic efforts to bring the militants and hardliners to the negotiating table. “I am trying to find a solution acceptable to all the parties concerned.”
Referring to the pace of economic development, the CM said: “We have to take into account the sharp sense of deprivation among the Baloch, and we have to address it seriously. For this, we have to allow people to regain control of the resources of the province.”
He said the 18th constitutional amendment was a leap forward in Pakistan’s constitutional history, giving the provinces more powers and greater autonomy within the federal system of the country. “Whatever powers Balochistan gets from the federal government, they should be devolved to the lowest level, empowering the poor in the remotest corners of the province.”
He pleaded that Balochistan needed more resources under the existing and fresh National Finance Commission Award, for which “our unceasing democratic struggle is under way”.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2015.
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