Renewed commitment: Govt, army on same page, says PM Nawaz

Road and rail links, security, hospital and airport in Gwadar discussed.

QUETTA:

Pakistan’s political leadership and the army are on the same page when it comes to retaining peace, progress and bringing development in the country, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said during a visit to Gwadar port on Thursday.

He was welcomed here by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch and briefed on the progress of development works in the area. “Chief Minister Balochistan is on my right side and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to my left,” the PM said as he met with the media during his visit. “The political and military leadership are on the same page for securing peace and bringing prosperity in the country. We want to take the country out of the present difficult situation,” he said.

The PM said the government has a broad-based plan for the development of Gwadar under which a new security force would also be raised for the security and protection of foreign nationals, particularly Chinese citizens working on various projects in the area. Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif will devise the plan and ensure the implementation of the security plan.



Matters relating to the development of Balochistan, peace and security and Pak-China Economic Corridor were discussed at Thursday’s meeting.

The ways and means to connect Kashgar (China) and Gwadar through road and rail links were deliberated in detail. The PM said the Director General FWO briefed the meeting about the pace of work on various road projects underway in the province. He expressed his government’s resolve to lay a network of roads in Balochistan during the current tenure.

The PM said, “It is regrettable that Gwadar had never been paid due attention despite being strategically important. Gwadar should have been a free port long ago.” The premier announced the construction of a 300-bed hospital and state-of-the-art airport here, describing the plan to model Gwadar along the lines of ‘free ports’ such as Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong ports.

The PM announced that the construction of a 19-kilometer highway to connect Gwadar with the coastal highway and express highway will soon begin. “The Planning Commission has been directed to expedite the construction of Gwadar port,” he added. The Planning Commission has also been tasked with the exercise to hire international consultants for this purpose, he said.

The PM said he would also convene a cabinet meeting in Balochistan. “The Balochistan CM is playing crucial role for good governance and maintaining law and order,” the PM said.

Earlier during the briefing, the PM was apprised that in the Pak-China Economic Corridor project, Rs162 billion have been allocated for Balochistan only. He was informed that the provision of clean drinking water, a technical training center and the expansion of the airport and port have also been planned for Gwadar.

The PM appreciated the role of federal agencies, army, FC and police for improving the law and order situation in Balochistan. He directed the Finance Minister to release Rs1.6 billion for port dredging

CM Dr Malik Baloch while thanking the PM said that for the first time, 78% of the development budget had been released till now and Rs110 billion has been received under the NFC Award for Balochistan, which is unprecedented.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2014.