QUETTA, June 21: Balochistan is suffering an annual loss of Rs400 million in its share of the federal divisible pool owing to the lowering of its population ratio from 5.3 per cent to 5.1 per cent in the census held in 1998.

“It is a big loss for a backward province like Balochistan, which needs more funds for its development,” Balochistan Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah told Dawn here on Saturday.

He recalled that population census was partially boycotted on the call of a political party and those who conducted the census finalized the report on their own and brought down Balochistan’s population ratio in Pakistan to 5.1 per cent.

“This is not merely a fall of 0.2 per cent in population ratio but a 3.6 per cent cut in the share,” the minister explained.

He foresaw more losses on account of reduction in population ratio in the future when the National Finance Commission would take up fresh exercise of resources’ distribution among the provinces. “Balochistan will also suffer cut in job quotas in the federal services,” he said and added that the province’s job quota was already not being properly implemented according to its share in the federal government.

The finance minister disclosed that Dr Gulfaraz had been nominated as Balochistan’s private statutory member for the NFC.

He said that the issue regarding reduction in the Balochistan quota due to population would be taken up with the federal government and the provincial government had already requested Islamabad to grant funds and its share from the divisible pool on the basis of 5.3 per cent.

DEMAND: The United Bus and Wagon Owners Association has demanded of the government to probe into the irregularities committed in the allotment of plots at Hazarganji bus stand else the transporters would resist the shifting to new site.