Political leaders urge Balochistan govt to fulfil jobs promise

Say educated people continue to struggle because of lack of employment opportunities

LORALAI: Leaders of different political parties and tribal elders of Loralai have asked the provincial government to provide job opportunities to young people and ensure merit-based appointments in the province. They said educated people continue to struggle because of lack of opportunities.

In a joint statement, leaders from various parties and different quarters of the province said despite the approval of a bill by the incumbent government’s cabinet, the process of appointments in the provincial departments has not begun.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Haji Hassan Khan Nasir, Awami National Youth Organisation’s Malik Manzoor Kadizai, Jamit Ulema-e-Islam’s Zakarya Mullazai, Citizen Action Committee’s Ikhlas Hamza Zai, National Party’s Dar Muhammad Baloch, Tehreek Shaoor Insaniyat’s Jaffar Khan Itman Khel, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Abdul Wali Kakar and others noted that the process of appointments had not begun.

The leaders pointed out that Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal had announced immediate appointments on 40,000 vacant posts in all the departments of the province.

They demanded that this process should be started soon as the educated young people are facing difficulties for a long time and are greatly disappointed.

The leaders further said if the government is sincere and serious about providing employment to the youth, then it should constitute Motorway Police at the international highway of Quetta and Loralai as well as at DG Khan Road, and post the unemployed youth in order to provide employment to them.

The leaders stressed that the provincial government should create new job opportunities.

Balochistan government has reiterated its commitment to ensure development, prosperity and employment throughout the province. It has promised numerous uplift projects that it claims would usher in an era of development and solve the woes of the public.

According to Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi, the government has released Rs13 billion for the ongoing and new development projects in the province during the first quarter of the financial year 2019-20.

The government had earmarked Rs108.114 billion to materialise 2,461 schemes during the current fiscal year. “The government has allocated Rs64.611 billion for 1,796 new schemes, while Rs43.502 billion have been earmarked for 665 ongoing development plans in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2019-20,” Buledi said.

(With additional input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2019.