QUETTA: Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) president Jam Kamal Khan Alyani took the oath as 16th chief minister of the province at a ceremony here on Sunday.

Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai administered the oath to the new chief minister at Governor House.

Outgoing caretaker chief minister Allauddin Marri, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, PTI’s provincial president Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, Chief Secretary Dr Nazeer Ahmed, Frontier Corps IG Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, Balochistan Police IG Mohsin Butt, leaders of different political parties and tribal elders were prominent among those who attended the ceremony.

Cites good governance, better ties with Centre as basic needs of province

Talking to reporters after the ceremony, CM Alyani told reporters that the biggest problem Balochistan was facing was the lack of good governance. The new government would take serious steps to resolve this issue, he said, adding that “good governance will be top priority of the new government”.

The CM said his government would not repeat mistakes committed by previous governments.

“Balochistan is our home and it is our responsibility to work hard for making it a developed, prosperous province and bring it at par with other developed provinces of the country.”

“We will focus on providing basic facilities to our people who had a lot of expectations with the new government,” he said. “The people will not forgive us if we fail to learn from past mistakes.”

Mr Alyani said that his government would raise all issues of Balochistan with the federal government and at all other forums for their resolution.

“The presence of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the (six-party ruling) alliance would strengthen ties between Balochistan and Islamabad, which had been badly affected in past,” he said.

“Pakistan is a federation and in this structure relations between federal and provincial administrations are highly significant and both the parties are required to play their role for bringing a meaningful change in the lives of people,” he said.

The CM said he and members of his cabinet would work in coordination for achieving goals the new government would set for bringing socioeconomic development in the province, especially in its backward areas.

He alleged that successive provincial governments during the past 15 years had done nothing to develop Balochistan and improve its relations with Islamabad.

“Education, health and peace are the basic needs of Balochistan,” he said.

He alleged that the previous governments had done nothing for restoration of peace in the province.

“My team would fight the battle for Balochistan’s rights and would not hesitate in rendering whatever sacrifices required for the purpose,” he said.

Talking about the importance of accountability and merit, he said strict steps would be taken to curb corruption. Without adopting harsh measures it was not impossible to eliminate corruption from society, he added.

He said it was unfortunate that in government departments junior officers were being given preference over their seniors.

For bringing a positive change in the province all political parties and government departments would have to play their roles, he said, adding that with joint efforts of the government and the opposition the “system would be put on the right track”.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018