June 22, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 06, 1428

QUETTA, June 21: Members of opposition parties in the Balochistan Assembly on Thursday staged a walkout from the when the budget was being presented.

Terming the budget a juggling of figures, they said that it would not serve the people, adding that the projects determined in the Public Sector Development Programme were confined to the constituencies of the chief minister, senior minister and finance minister.

Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar chaired the budget session. When Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah started presenting the budget, opposition members raised slogans against military dictatorship and the provincial government and walked out.

Later speaking at a press conference, Kachkol Ali Baloch, Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal and Shafique Ahmed Khan said the provincial government during its five-year tenure had given nothing to the people except obtaining Rs50bn loans and overdraft from the State Bank.

They said that the provincial government had no funds to start new projects.

The opposition leaders alleged large-scale corruption in the coalition government and said government jobs were not given on merit.

They said that despite claims of launching mega projects in Balochistan, the provincial government has no funds to pay salaries to employees.