QUETTA: Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has urged the federal government to ensure scrutiny of domicile certificates before giving jobs on the basis of provincial quota to people claiming to be residents of Balochistan.

Addressing a meeting of the Senate standing committee on inter-provincial coordination here on Friday, he said there were complaints that a large number of people had got jobs in various federal departments and corporations on the Balochistan quota on the basis of fake domicile certificates.

The CM told the meeting presided over by the committee chairman Muhammad Kabir Muhammad Shai that under the 18th Amendment some basic changes relating to provincial autonomy had been made in the constitution but Islamabad was still exercising full powers as it had not brought necessary changes to other laws linked with Article 172.

Senate committee told that people with bogus papers getting jobs in federal departments on Balochistan quota

He pointed out that minerals and mining were already in the jurisdiction of provinces before the 18th Amendment became part of the constitution. The issue of Saindak gold-cum-copper project is still not resolved, he deplored. “We have no idea how much gold and other minerals are being dug out by the Chinese company from the Saindak project.”

He said that appointment of representatives of Balochistan to Ogra, PPL and other corporations should be made with the consent and recommendations of the provincial government.

He asked the committee to recommend to the centre that before giving jobs in federal departments and corporations on the Balochistan quota the applicants’ domicile certificates should be sent to provincial authorities concerned to stop appointments on the basis of fake certificates.

The chief minister also spoke at a meeting of the Senate standing committee on less developed areas held here earlier in the day.

He said federal and provincial authorities and farmers were bound to abide by the agreement on subsidy on tubewells approved by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He feared domestic and agriculture consumers in Balochistan would face great difficulties if the agreement remains unimplemented.

He informed the meeting that the development budget was bearing a burden of Rs8 billion after bringing 8,000 tubewells to the subsidy net.

“If the agreement made in Islamabad is not implemented the electricity supply to Balochistan could be cut,” he said.

Mr Baloch asked the agriculture consumers to pay their bills regularly, adding that officers and staff of Qesco would have to change their attitude. “An entire feeder should not be switched off because of some defaulters,” he observed.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2015

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