ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: Balochistan will soon have 'substantial job quota' in all the federal ministries, departments as well as state-run corporations, says Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind.

"We have also proposed to offer increased quota of jobs for Balochistan in police, Frontier Constabulary (FC) and various other federal government departments," he further stated.

Talking to Dawn on Thursday, Mr Rind, who headed a three-member ministerial committee on Balochistan's job share, said the report submitted to the prime minister called for removing 'genuine grievances' of the Balochi people.

"The prime minister told me that major recommendations of the committee would be accepted by the federal government," he said. He said currently there was no Grade-22 Baloch officer, and it was a matter of concern. "But I am sure we will soon have many Grade-22 officers belonging to Balochistan."

The minister for states and frontier regions said that the prime minister had agreed to offer 'due share' of jobs to Balochistan. The prime minister, he said, had also assured him that the recommendations of the three-member committee would be implemented in letter and spirit.

"We have made future recommendations regarding jobs, and if those are implemented then I assure you that no nationalist leader could dare to exploit the situation over the issue," he claimed.

Responding to a question, he said that Balochistan was currently getting 3.5 per cent quota of jobs which was against 5.2 per cent quota determined in the last census.

"Even the job quota that was proposed in the 1973 Constitution has not been given to our province, but the PML government is going to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of all the Balochis," he said.

Mr Rind said that the 'whole new mechanism' had been proposed by his committee to provide increased number of jobs to the people of Balochistan. He said the prime minister had agreed that those who got their education in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad couldn't be compared with the students of Kharan and other less-developed areas of Balochistan.

"And we have recommended to the government in our report to encourage fair competition in education and jobs so that the feelings of depravation are eliminated in the Balochistan province," the minister for states and frontier regions said.