LAHORE, May 15: Caretaker Balochistan Chief Minister Ghous Bakhsh Barozai has admitted shortcomings in the conduct of elections but insists that the target of smooth transfer of power has largely been achieved.

“The civil administration in Balochistan worked day in and day out to ensure fair conduct of polling. It has defied massive odds in the restive province,” he told a gathering of journalists and academics at an informal talk at a local hotel on Wednesday. The Pakistan Institute of National Affairs (PINA) organised the event to get first-hand knowledge about the Balochistan affairs. It was a sequel to a conference PINA had arranged on Balochistan a few months ago.

Mr Barozai reiterated that Balochistan faced the myriad problems and it was not easy to go into elections without a cabinet. He said it’s a fact that he could not make his cabinet due to multiple problems. An equally challenging task was to convince nationalists and political participants to stay in the race, he said.

He said he had tried his best to keep elections fair and transparent and this could be substantiated from the fact that his brother had lost election in Sibbi (PP-121).

He said the political dispensation in his province had limited powers as “there are hidden forces that pull the strings.” However, he said, political will and concerted efforts could improve things in the province.

“Every individual and institution or organ of the state must play its role in fighting those causing destabilisation,” he said.

He admitted that results in some constituencies in Balochistan were inordinately delayed. He said: “There were grave threats to the candidates and polling staff who feared that the results could be stolen. So, great care had to be taken to ensure the completion of the entire process.”

The Balochistan CM further said the law-enforcement agencies were making efforts to minimise high-profile crime like targeted killings and they were being trained on modern lines. Unfortunately, he said, there was no letup in foreign support to criminals and separatists. He said Pakistan was bearing the brunt o/11.

As for the development projects, he said Balochistan needed funds for roads and elimination of no-go areas and not facilities like hospitals which were already there.

Mr Altaf Hasan Qureshee recalled Mr Barozai’s contributions to the welfare of people in Balochistan, especially during floods. He said Balochistan should be given better representation in the federal cabinet as well as higher bureaucracy.

He also stressed that the public representatives and ministers should pay more and more visits to Balochistan and win over the trust of people by announcing development projects. Cabinet meetings should be held over there, he suggested.

Other participants, including Mujeebur Rehman Shami and Mujahid Kamran, said the media coverage of the Balochistan issues should be improved.—MUHAMMAD SALMAN KHAN