QUETTA: The provincial government’s parliamentary committee of coalition partners on Monday called for an increase in the number of National Assembly’s seats for Balochistan.

The demand was made at a meeting of the committee attended by the MPAs and ministers of all political parties included in the coalition. Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani chaired the meeting.

The meeting welcomed a resolution passed by the Senate which had suggested an increase in Balochistan’s seats in the National Asse­m­bly. It demanded that the Natio­nal Assembly move a similar resolution for increasing Baloch­is­tan’s representation in the house.

The coalition partners in the Balochistan government unanimously decided in the meeting that a resolution for increasing the provincial seats in the lower house of parliament would be tabled in the Balochistan Assembly. It was decided that the opposition in the provincial assembly would also be taken into confidence on the matter.

The coalition government decided to liaise with other political parties to seek the support of the National Assembly on the matter. A parliamentary committee comprising members of the coalition partners at the national and provincial levels would be formed.

Referring to the demands of the coalition partners, CM Alyani said Balochistan was the largest province of the country in terms of area and had great importance in the region because of its huge natural resources.

He said that less representation of Balochistan in the lower house of parliament was the main reason for backwardness in the province. Therefore, he added, the increased representation of the province at the federal level was necessary for fully highlighting problems of the province.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2020