QUETTA: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that the Balochistan issue should be resolved in consultation with all stakeholders.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, he said that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had already suggested that the government should hold talks with all Baloch leaders for the sake of peace in the province.

All stakeholders should be heard and a consensus formula should be worked out, Mr Sharif said, adding that addressing grievances of smaller provinces was crucial for a strong federation.

Mr Sharif said the PML-N believed in democracy and the army, like other institutions, should work under the government.

He said that a few adventurers had toppled elected governments and the nation was still facing consequences of their action.

‘Some provinces were angry with Punjab because of martial laws imposed by these adventurers,’ he said. Commenting on PML-N’s contacts with the army, he said his party was discussing only security issues.
 
He condemned India’s involvement in Balochistan and Waziristan and said that it was interfering in the country’s internal affairs and supporting terrorism.

‘The government has enough proof about India’s involvement in disturbing peace in Balochistan, Waziristan and elsewhere in the country.’

However, he stressed the need for peace in the region and said the two countries should coexist peacefully for the prosperity of people on both sides of the border.

Mr Sharif said that Punjab was spending Rs2 billion on a 100-bed cardiology institute in Quetta, adding that it would be completed in two years.

‘This hospital will play the role of a bridge between the people of Punjab and Balochistan. It will also help to heal wounds of Baloch people.’

He announced Rs30 million for the Balochistan University’s endowment fund, and said that seats for Baloch youths in technical institutions in Punjab would be increased from 160 to 250.

Earlier, secretaries of mines of both provinces, Saifullah Chatta and Wahid Bakhsh Baloch, signed a memorandum of understanding under which Punjab would buy coal from Balochistan for running the 100-megawatt power plant in Dera Ghazi Khan.

The Punjab chief minister, who is also president of the PML-N, addressed party workers at the residence of Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasar.

He said his party wanted to see the PPP government complete its tenure.