ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday held separate meetings with the chief ministers of Balochistan and the NWFP who called on him at the prime minister house.

Talking to Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, Mr Aziz said that the people of Balochistan wanted peace and progress in the province and the government was committed to reducing sense of deprivation among them through rapid socio-economic development.

He said that Balochistan was an important province of Pakistan and its development was the development of Pakistan. He said that the patriotic Baloch people had supported the creation of Pakistan and would continue to uphold national interests.

He said that the sense of deprivation created in 59 years could not be eliminated in a couple of years and the government was doing its best to bring a marked improvement in the living standard of the Balochistan people.

He said that the government had initiated mega development projects at a cost of Rs35 billion in Balochistan and allocated special development funds of Rs100 million for each district of the province.

The prime minister said that improving socio-economic conditions of the masses was a priority of the government and it would take every possible step to achieve the goal.

He added that more investment was being made in fisheries, tourism, minerals and agriculture sectors to open up new job opportunities for the people to enable them to become economically independent.

Mr Aziz said that the government was making all out efforts to bring the province at par with the developed parts of the country.

He said that writ of the government would be maintained and national interests would be upheld at all costs.

He appreciated the provincial government for maintaining law and order in Balochistan and expressed satisfaction over the overall situation in the province.

Earlier, the chief minister apprised the prime minister of the law and order situation in the province and thanked him for support and cooperation extended by the federal government for uplift projects in the province.

He updated the prime minister on progress being made on the development projects and said that the provincial government would ensure their timely completion.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcast Mohammad Ali Durrani attended the meeting.

NWFP CHIEF MINISTER: The prime minister told NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani that the government wanted consensus on the proposed women’s rights protection bill as its passage in parliament would go a long way in ensuring women’s rights as envisaged in Quran and Sunnah.