03 October 2004	Sunday	17 Shaban 1425

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QUETTA, Oct 2: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday that there could be no development if the law and order situation in the country was not satisfactory.

Speaking to Pakistan Muslim League leaders here at Governor's House, the prime minister said he would address the nation before Ramazan about the government's priorities.

He asked the PML workers to maintain unity and discipline in the organization. He said Balochistan had been given good representation in the cabinet.

The prime minister said special attention would be paid to improvement of the law and order situation and the judicial system.

He said the private sector would be encouraged to accelerate economic activities and create job opportunities.

He said the government was endeavouring to control the prices of commodities and it was spending billions of rupees as subsidy so that people could get petrol and diesel on reasonable rates.

He said the wheat support price had been fixed before the sowing of the crop and the step would benefit peasants.

He said a huge investment would be made on education and health and vocational training programmes would be initiated.

The prime minister said a number of basic health schemes had been launched at the federal and provincial levels. He said the government was giving attention to the construction of roads in all the provinces.

He said Balochistan had been badly affected by drought and the government was making efforts to provide funds to meet the challenge.

The prime minister said the people of the province would get their due share in government departments and institutions.

He said there would be revolutionary progress in the province when the Gwadar port started functioning.

He said the people of Balochistan were patriotic and all of them wanted the province to progress. The centre would fully cooperate with the provincial government in its development programme, he said.

He said facilities for trade with Afghanistan needed to be increased.

He said the problem of water shortage could be solved through better management. He said drip irrigation as was the best system for orchards to check wastage of water.

RESOLUTION: Opposition leaders in the provincial assembly on Thursday demanded implementation of the resolution adopted by the house on the allotment of coalmines in the Khost area of Harnai subdivision to protect the rights of the people of the area.

Speaking at a press conference in the opposition leader's chamber in the Balochistan Assembly building, Opposition Leader Kachkol Baloch and Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party parliamentary leader Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal said a meeting of the committee constituted by the chief minister on the issue had not been convened.

They alleged that the government was reluctant to implement the resolution passed by the assembly because of the opposition's stand on the issue of the president's military post.

They said the law-enforcement agencies were safeguarding the interests of the exploiters and they had taken innocent people into custody without any justification. They said the coal mines should be allotted to the natives.