Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that the Punjab government had more than doubled the number of higher education scholarships for Baloch students from 135 to 360.

The prime minister was speaking while on a one-day visit to Turbat. He promised to provide "maximum funds" for Balochistan's education sector.

The announcement comes weeks after more than three dozen Baloch students camped outside the Punjab Assembly, demanding the government to restore their scholarships.

As many as 40 Baloch students of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan had started their march from Multan on October 10 and reached Lahore on October 21.

Their charter of demands included restoration of scholarships for the students enrolled at the BZU on the reserved seats for Balochistan and withdrawal of a fee collection notification issued in this regard.

The students also wanted resolution of issues faced by the Balochistan students studying on seats reserved for them in other universities of Punjab, besides restoration of such seats that had been abolished in Punjab University Lahore, Islamia University Bahawalpur, Agriculture University Faisalabad, Gomal University DI Khan.

One of the marchers, Jiand Jan, had told Dawn at the time that the government had not yet contacted them, but there were unconfirmed reports that the quota of the reserve seats had been extended for two more years.

In his address today, the prime minister termed students as the country's "asset and future" and said that the government wanted "an intellectual base [to] be prepared in Balochistan [which would be] ready to meet the challenges of today’s world".

Stressing the importance of uniform development of all provinces, the premier said: "The prosperity of Balochistan is linked with the prosperity of Pakistan."

The prime minister said advancements in information technology had opened up a multitude of opportunities for virtual education and urged students in Balochistan's remote areas to avail online facilities to gain education.