UN’s development agenda endorsed

Former PM Jamali grills PML-N over its policies on PIA, says as premier he turned down proposal to privatise it

ISLAMABAD:

Even though Pakistan failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the National Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday to achieve the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of its post-2015 development agenda.

“The National Assembly adopts the outcome document of UN Summit for post 2015 development agenda – Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development – as Pakistan’s Development Agenda, which is reflected in Pakistan Vision 2025, which has been supported by all political parties,” said the resolution, presented by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal.



It called upon the federal and provincial governments, private sector, civil society and media to work ‘wholeheartedly’ with due resources to implement their plan so that “goals for people, planet, prosperity, partnership and peace are achieved in time”. The resolution also mentioned about all political parties supported Vision 2025 to achieve these pledged goals.



Speaking on the floor with regard to the backwardness and lack of development in Balochistan, the Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) lawmaker Essa Noori said there was only one degree college in Gwadar, which lacked teaching staff.

“In such a scenario, only the educated labour from Karachi and other parts of the country would able to get employment opportunities in Gwadar [after it is linked to multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)],” he said.

He said the Chinese language has been declared essential by the Sindh government that is an indication as to who would reap benefits from the CPEC projects. “Our children should be provided opportunities to get standard education so that they can contest for such positions,” he added.

Noori, who hails from Gwadar, said it was not possible to carry out a census in Balochistan without addressing the issues of security, demographics and illegal residents from Afghanistan.



Responding to Noori’s apprehension, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said the British rulers wrote in Quetta Gazetteer of 1909 that “Quetta is an absolute Afghan city where the Baloch are nominal.” He said it is wrong to perceive that Afghan nationals had been brought to Quetta just to change its demography.

Iqbal said less developed areas would be upgraded at a par with the developed areas. “Gwadar’s development is also on top of the agenda. “The CPEC would address the chronic problems of the ignored areas,” the minister said.

Jamali grills his own party for its policies

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) lawmaker Zafarullah Khan Jamali came down hard on his own party for its policies particularly with regard to ‘non-transparent’ privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Jamali said during his tenure as premier, he turned down a proposal to privatise the national flag carrier.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th,  2016.