QUETTA: Provincial Local Government Minister Sardar Mustafa Khan Tareen walked out of the Balochistan Assembly on Friday in protest against alleged interference of the bureaucracy in his department, complaining that he was not consulted about transfers of employees and budget issues.

He said the elected representatives of local bodies had locked their offices and had continuously been protesting against the bureaucrats not having transferred powers to them.

“Elected local body representatives all over Balochistan are powerless as they are neither consulted regarding funds and budget issues nor has power been transferred to them,” he said.

The minister said he was never informed about transfers and postings in the local government department. “Senior bureaucrats have taken total control of my department.”

He said he and the elected local representatives wanted to do work but the bureaucracy put hurdles in their way.

He said a grade-17 officer had been working on a post of grade 19 in his department for two years.

“I am a powerless minister. I will boycott the assembly until my reservations are removed and the bureaucracy desists from putting obstacles in the work of elected representatives of local bodies,” he said, while staging a walkout from the house.

However, Minister for Planning and Development Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai brought him back after assuring him that the issues raised by him would be brought to the notice of the chief minister.

Former chief minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said the issues and problems of Mr Tareen should be taken up with the chief minister and his reservations should be addressed.

The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and National Party’s Mir Khalid Langove exchanged harsh words when the former criticised Dr Baloch for his government’s health and education policies. Speaker Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani ordered the assembly staff to expunge the harsh words exchanged by the two members.

The house adopted two resolutions calling for setting up education and health commissions to streamline the policies and affairs of the sectors.

Published in Dawn November 5th, 2016