QUETTA, June 21: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf has said a committee comprising assembly members and district Nazims will be set up to suggest proposals for resolution of problems being faced by the Nazims, besides creating good working relationships between the provincial government and the district governments.
Talking to a delegation of district Nazims here, the chief minister stated that steps were being taken to resolve the difficulties faced by the Nazims so that the Nazims could exercise the powers vested in them under the local government ordinance.
Jam Yousuf said that according to the recommendations by the provincial finance commission, the district governments would get 31 per cent share from the provincial resources. Similarly, 2.5 per cent from general sales tax would be paid to the district governments.
He claimed that his government was extending cooperation to the district governments and allocated Rs1 billion from the special grants that proved its sincerity towards them.
The chief minister said the district Nazims could make recruitments from grade one to nine on the basis of merit and added that transfers and postings would also be done on merit.
The chief minister urged the district Nazims to cooperate with the provincial government which would do its best to remove misunderstandings on sharing of powers between the provincial and the district governments.
MORPHINE SEIZED: The Chagai Militia has seized around five tons of morphine in Shaiban area near Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chagai district, some 300km west of here.
“The consignment was smuggled into Pakistan from Hilmand province of Afghanistan,” Captain Fazal Akbar told this correspondent at the Frontier Headquarters where the stuff was brought from Nushki.
The value of the recovered morphine in the local market was estimated at around Rs500 million, a senior official of the Frontier Corps said, who claimed it was the biggest-ever drug haul in Pakistan.
According to sources, on being tipped off, the personnel of the Chagai Militia moved into the Shaiban area, four kilometre away from the Afghan border, and raided hideouts of smugglers.
The armed men guarding the drug consignment opened fire on the raiding Militiamen, who also retaliated.
The heavy exchange of fire continued for around half an hour after which the armed guards crossed into an Afghan border area. They had to leave the drugs behind.