Path to glory: Pak-China economic corridor key to progress, says Maalik

Chief minister says crime rate in Balochistan has declined by 40%.

LAHORE: Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Maalik Baloch said on Sunday the Pak-China corridor would open new avenues of progress from Gwadar to Kashgar.

“Balochistan is blessed with an abundance of mineral resources. These should be appropriately utilised,” the chief minister told a press conference.

He said crime rate in the province had declined by 40 per cent over the last two years. “The law and order situation in Balochistan has improved because of the support of political and military leaders,” he said.



Baloch said poverty and unemployment were among the main problems faced by Balochistan. He said five more medical colleges and two universities had been set up in the province. “I have requested Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to grant admission to students from Balochistan in educational institutions in the Punjab,” he said.

The chief minister said 5,000 teachers were being recruited in Balochistan. To ensure transparency, he said, a judge had been appointed chairman of the Balochistan Public Service Commission.

“Through the School Bharo and Goodbye to Cheating campaigns, a considerable improvement has been brought about in the education sector.” Baloch said that while he was a member of a small party he had support of major political parties.

The chief minister said 700,000 acres would be made cultivable with the completion of the Kachhi Canal project. Balochistan, he said, had the capacity to store double the amount of water Tarbela Dam did. He said many mega projects were being executed from Loralei to Dera Ghazi Khan and Zhob to Dera Ismail Khan with help from the federal government.

Baloch said export promotion zones were being set up from Gwadar to Pasni with the cooperation of China. He expressed the confidence that mining projects, including one in Reko Diq, would be completed early.

He stressed the need for increasing resources available for development in Balochistan. He said the province’s budget currently stood at Rs45 billion whereas Rs55 billion was needed for education alone. He said the government was working on a war footing to overcome the energy crisis.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2015.