QUETTA: The government is adopting all legal means to solve the problems of candidates who have passed the National Testing System (NTS) test as it is committed to ending unemployment in Balochistan, provincial Minister for Information Technology and Social Welfare Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran has said.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday following a meeting with the Balochistan NTS Youth Action Committee, he said the provincial government was serious in providing jobs to the youth.

The chief minister had said that 10,000 vacancies would be offered in the first month of this year and by June 29,000 positions would be filled in various provincial departments, he said, adding that the age limit for youth applying to government departments had been increased.

While speaking about the talks being held with disgruntled Baloch leaders, the minister said the issues could not be resolved through use of gun. “Violence is not a solution to any issue, rather it creates more complexities. Balochistan is an integral part of Pakistan for which the government is ready to negotiate with those ready to accept the writ of the state,” he said.

“The provincial government is serious in addressing the issue of missing persons since we can’t bear the burden of further destruction,” he remarked.

Sardar Khetran lauded the approach of protesting NTS students who contacted the government and called off their strike on its assurance.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2019