QUETTA: The members of the opposition Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) attended the Provincial Assembly session here on Saturday while wearing lemon green jackets to express solidarity with engineers of different government departments, who have been observing protest for the last three weeks to press for their demands.

Soon after the session started with Deputy Speaker Sardar Babar Khan Musakhail in the chair, Mir Akhtar Hussain Langove of the BNP-M stood up on a point of order and raised the issue of the protesting engineers.

Besides, traders, schoolteachers, government employees and people of different walks of life were facing various issues and problems, he said and called upon the government to take measures to solve their problems.

Five major demands have been accepted, says minister

Taking the floor, Sana Baloch suggested forming of a committee to discuss the demands of the protesting engineers.

Provincial Minister for Agriculture Engineer Zamarak Khan Piralizai told the house that the government had accepted five major demands of the engineers and accused the opposition of trying to gain political mileage out of the protest of the engineers.

Nasarullah Zerey of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party opposed the government move to merge the Levies Force with the police department in Quetta, Gwadar and Lasbela districts and said that the government should withdraw the decision and make the Levies an effective force by providing it training and equipping it with modern technology and weapons. He also opposed issuance of a licence for coal mining in the Ziarat Valley.

Provincial Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi said that the issues related to the engineers, doctors, teachers and paramedical staff would be definitely resolved soon as the government was taking steps in this connection.

Health Minister Mir Naseebullah Marri informed the house that pharmacists were demanding induction on 600 posts but the government did not have more than 50 vacant positions of pharmacists.

“Vacant posts in the department of health will be announced and advertised soon through the Balochistan Public Services Commission,” he said.

The assembly unanimously approved a resolution seeking official/gratis passports for the families of the MPAs. The resolution was moved by Bushra Rind.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2019