Balochistan budget: MPAs warn against improper use of funds
Note that the education and health sectors were neglected in the past.
Note that the education and health sectors were neglected in the past. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
QUETTA:
Legislators gave the Balochistan budget a cautious thumb-up on Tuesday but warned that they expected the allocated funds to be properly utilised on approved schemes.
They pointed out that in the past governments had earmarked billions of rupees for law and order improvements while neglecting the education and health sectors.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) member Gul Muhammad Dumar said the budget had many positive and negative aspects. It had allocations for law and order, education and health but the situation of the province had worsened. “There are school buildings but there is no one to teach,” he said. He condemned the recent terror attacks in Quetta and Ziarat which resulted in the destruction of a national heritage and killing of 25 people, including female students. He said the tourism department was taking steps to promote tourism in Murree but Ziarat had been ignored which had the world’s oldest juniper forests.
The JUI-F leader demanded the arrest of the murderers of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and an All Parties’ Conference be called to discuss Balochistan issue.
National Party (NP) leader Nawab Muhammad Khan Shahwani said the budget was well devised but now the question was of its utilisation.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Raza Muhammad Raza said Pakistan was a signatory to the millennium development goals on health, education, water, polio and poverty but had failed to achieve these goals. “The main reason behind our failure to address these issues is repeated derailment of democracy,” he added.
Minority member Santosh Kumar welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to try former dictator Pervez Musharraf as the latter “had bombed the Hindu community in Dera Bugti” in an assault that led to the deaths of dozens of Hindus.
Terming the budget historic, the NP leader Islam Baloch said previous governments were engaged in record corruption, “but we would neither engage in monetary misappropriation nor allow others.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2013.
Legislators gave the Balochistan budget a cautious thumb-up on Tuesday but warned that they expected the allocated funds to be properly utilised on approved schemes.
They pointed out that in the past governments had earmarked billions of rupees for law and order improvements while neglecting the education and health sectors.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) member Gul Muhammad Dumar said the budget had many positive and negative aspects. It had allocations for law and order, education and health but the situation of the province had worsened. “There are school buildings but there is no one to teach,” he said. He condemned the recent terror attacks in Quetta and Ziarat which resulted in the destruction of a national heritage and killing of 25 people, including female students. He said the tourism department was taking steps to promote tourism in Murree but Ziarat had been ignored which had the world’s oldest juniper forests.
The JUI-F leader demanded the arrest of the murderers of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and an All Parties’ Conference be called to discuss Balochistan issue.
National Party (NP) leader Nawab Muhammad Khan Shahwani said the budget was well devised but now the question was of its utilisation.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Raza Muhammad Raza said Pakistan was a signatory to the millennium development goals on health, education, water, polio and poverty but had failed to achieve these goals. “The main reason behind our failure to address these issues is repeated derailment of democracy,” he added.
Minority member Santosh Kumar welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to try former dictator Pervez Musharraf as the latter “had bombed the Hindu community in Dera Bugti” in an assault that led to the deaths of dozens of Hindus.
Terming the budget historic, the NP leader Islam Baloch said previous governments were engaged in record corruption, “but we would neither engage in monetary misappropriation nor allow others.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2013.