QUETTA, Oct 16: Balochistan ministers assured the business community of full protection and asked them to resume normal work.

This assurance was given them by provincial ministers at a joint press conference at the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry office here on Tuesday. Ministers, who were present at the press conference, included minister for communication and works Agha Abdul Qadir Baloch, minister for finance Malik Naeem Ahmed, minister for food and agriculture Naseer Ahmed Bacha and minister for industries Sardar Mohammed Ali Jogezai.

Malik Naeem Ahmed admitted that the damage to shops and banks on Oct 8 were caused due to negligence of the local administration and assured that action will be taken against the officials responsible for negligence.

Replying to a question, he said the government would try to compensate the victims for their losses. He said the government’s policy adopted in the aftermath of the crisis arising out of the Sept 11 incident, will have far reaching effects in the best interest of the country.

Agha Abdul Qadir Baloch said that frequent strikes to register protest against US attacks on Afghanistan and damaging properties will only please the enemy rather than helping the Afghan people.

He said “all Muslim countries are dear to us but Pakistan is the dearest of all”. The people must uphold the interest of their country supreme and should not do anything perilous to the national interest, he maintained.

Earlier, Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Quetta, president informed ministers of the negative impact cast on the business activities in the provincial capital on account of frequent strikes especially the damage caused to the business properties, banks and cinema houses in the Oct 8 violence.

He said that Pakistan’s economy had been adversely affected by the Sept 11 events in the United States and the wheel of the local industry had come to a halt. Export orders are being cancelled that may result in closure of many of the industrial units making the economic situation even graver.

He asked the government to consider to lower the interest rate on bank loans to help recover the economy as has been done in the US and Japan.—APP