Balochistan emergency: Chief secretary given free hand to run affairs, says Magsi

Provincial governor says all developmental funds assigned should be utilised fairly without any wastage.

QUETTA: Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Ali Magsi said on Tuesday that the provincial chief secretary had been given a free hand to run the administrative and financial affairs of the province.

The governor was speaking after a briefing on the provincial annual development programme by the additional chief secretary for planning and development, Mohammad Aslam Shakir.

During the meeting, Governor Magsi stressed that all developmental funds assigned to the province should be utilised fairly without any wastage, adding that additional funds should be allocated for ongoing projects to ensure their completion on time.

Furthermore, the governor directed that the ongoing schemes of formerly elected representatives should continue, unless they are deemed unnecessary. He said every effort should be made to prevent and eradicate corruption, adding that provincial chief secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad had been given a free hand to run the administrative and financial affairs of the province.

During the briefing, the governor was informed that Rs36 billion would be spent on 1,452 projects in the annual developmental programme of Balochistan.

Meanwhile, Inspector General (IG) of Police Tariq Umar Khatab said that law enforcers would make every effort to wipe out targeted killings, terrorism, kidnappings and sectarian violence in the province.

During a meeting to review the law and order situation in the province, Khatab said action would be taken against terrorists and those who provided them shelter.

It is every citizen’s responsibility to abide by the law, he said, adding that no compromise would be made to ensure the safety of citizens. Furthermore, police personnel and vehicles assigned to former ministers had been redeployed to enhance security in the province, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2013.