QUETTA: Balochistan Assembly Speaker Jan Mohammad Jamali has said the province needs powers and resources for fast development and to come on a par with other provinces.

Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, Mr Jamali urged experts and intellectuals from other provinces to help and guide Balochistan in formulating policies that could spur development in the province.

“The 18th Amendment has given powers to provinces, but are they ready to take the responsibility?” Mr Jamali asked.

Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Riina Kionka, who was the guest of honour, told the participants that it was a challenging time for Pakistan.

She said the climate was changing faster than “we can adapt, and Pakistan has witnessed a damaging impact of it in the form of recent floods”.

In this context, she said, Europe had given 138 million euros in aid to help Pakistan alleviate immediate problems in flooded areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

“You all must have been closely watching the developments of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,” Ms Kionka said, adding that Pakistan’s negotiators at the conference played a critical role in harnessing a convergence point which led nations to agree on a ‘loss and damage fund’ for climate change mitigation.

“You should be proud of it, as this is a historic moment. The EU is also doing its part. It is responsible for nine per cent of global emissions, but it contributes 30pc of global public financing for the climate,” Ms Kionka said.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2022