ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Balochistan’s quota in federal jobs has been increased from 3.3 per cent to 5 per cent in accordance with the 1998 census.
This was decided in a meeting chaired by President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday. The meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation in the province and discussed the pace of work on development projects in Balochistan.
The president directed authorities concerned to make Gwadar port operational at the earliest and said that timely completion of development projects in Balochistan would go a long to bring the province on a par with other developed areas of the country.
The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
President Musharraf emphasised the need for skill development and provision of vocational technical education, saying that it would lead to job creation and contribute to socio-economic uplift of the people.
He also underscored the need for timely completion of other development projects in the province.
The meeting was the second in a series held under the president to monitor the pace of development work across the country. The first meeting on development work in Fata was held last week.
Prime Minister Aziz highlighted various steps taken by the government to provide basic amenities at the grassroots level in addition to initiating mega projects.
He also cited efforts to provide employment opportunities to youths in Balochistan.
The meeting noted that 33,000 permanent jobs had been created by the federal government for the people of Balochistan.
Prime Minister Aziz said that focused efforts were being made to explore province’s potential in agriculture, fisheries, livestock, tourism, oil, gas and mineral sectors.
The governor and the chief minister of Balochistan briefed the meeting about the pace of development projects and security measures being taken to improve law and order in the province.
President Musharraf expressed satisfaction over the visible improvement in law and order in the province, which he stressed must be ensured.
The meeting was attended by Governor Balochistan Awais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) and other officials concerned.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jam Yousuf praised the decision to increase Balochistan’s y quota in federal jobs.
Talking to Pakistan Television after attending the meeting, he said President Musharraf had expressed satisfaction over the law and order situation in the province.
The chief minister said the meeting had also decided to provide scholarships to students of Balochistan in colleges and technical institutions in other parts of country.
He said that that federal government would provide Rs165 billion for development projects in the province.—APP
