QUETTA: Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has said that the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has been established to wage a struggle for the development and prosperity of the province.

Speaking at the BAP’s flag-hoisting ceremony here on Sunday evening, he said the party flag reflected protection of the rights of all communities in Balochistan, including Baloch, Pashtun, Hazara and minorities. “We should take decisions on our own for the betterment of the province,” he said.

He said the Pakistan Mus­lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other national parties had always ignored Baloch­istan and its people. He said the PML-N leadership’s dictatorial attitude had forced Balochistan leaders to form the BAP.

The PML-N leadership had never taken Balochistan’s leaders into confidence on any issue and tried to impose their decisions on them, he added.

Mr Bizenjo said: “The new party will protect the rights of Balochistan people and would take the province’s due share in the country’s financial resources from Islamabad and spend them on the development of the province.”

He said despite change in Islamabad the federal government had not changed its attitude towards Balochistan, alleging that it had stopped funds allocated in the federal budget for the province’s development projects.

The chief minister said the current PML-N government had not announced the NFC award. Chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh protested and staged a walkout from the meeting which was held to decide shares of provinces in the country’s financial resources, he added.

He claimed that Islamabad had also ignored Balochistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) projects. He said the federal government cooperated only with Punjab.

Mr Bizenjo claimed that the law and order situation in Balochistan had improved. He lauded the role of Pakistan Army for establishment of peace in the province, saying that it had rendered great sacrifices for this.

He said the next provincial budget would be ‘people-friendly’ as the government would give maximum relief to the common man.

Speaking on the occasion, former senator Saeed Ahmed Hashmi said the new party would struggle for making Balochistan a developed and prosperous province.

Former minister for state Jam Kamal, Senator Nasibullah Bazai, Prince Ali Ahmed Ahmedzai, Dr Ruquyia Seed Hashmi, Barrister Syed Hasnain Hashmi, MNA Sardarzada Dostain Khan Domki, former minister Mir Faiq Ali Jamali, Mir Zafar Qambrani and other leaders of the party attended the ceremony.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018