ISLAMABAD: Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday called for adopting a people-centred approach for peace and stability in Balochistan.

“It is time to reap dividends of hard-earned peace and expedite socio-economic development by adopting a people-centric approach for attaining enduring stability,” the chief of army staff said in an interaction with participants of seventh National Workshop on Balochistan at the General Headquarters.

The security forces, Gen Bajwa said, were steadfast and determined to defeat enemies of peace and prosperity of Balochistan.

“Balochistan’s peace and prosperity is the bedrock of Pakistan’s progress,” he maintained.

He said that the nature of threats faced by Balochistan required a comprehensive national response. Therefore, he noted, the province was getting national leadership’s attention and the Army was fully engaged in enabling national and provincial response in synergy with other institutions of the State.

“We are a resilient nation that has endured the tests of time on its path to achieving peace and stability,” the army chief emphasised.

The participants of the workshop included parliamentarians, bureaucrats, members of civil society, youth, academia and media representatives. The workshop, the Inter-Services Public Relations said, was being held to enable future leadership of Balochistan to understand vital national and provincial issues and give a cohesive response.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2021