ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: Senators from Balochistan on Friday criticized the government for not making arrangements for processing and packing of fish products and dates in the province.

Dr Mohammad Ismail Buledi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal lashed out at Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan during the question hour when he said the government was endeavouring to develop the fisheries sector in Balochistan and gave details of some ongoing projects.

Dr Buledi said the people of Balochistan had been listening to such assurances for 57 years and no step had been taken in this regard.

He said he had met former food and agriculture minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind on the issue and received similar assurances.

The senator from Turbat challenged the minister's claim of improvement in the sector and asked him to visit the province to ascertain the situation. "Nothing has been done on ground and all projects are there only on papers," Dr Buledi said.

The minister said he was only answerable for the present time.

He said the Horticulture Board had agreed to conduct a survey for setting up a dates processing plant in Turbat. He said the plant would be set up with the involvement of the private sector.

Mr Bosan said the government wanted development in Balochistan and every effort would be made to secure the private investment in the province.

Sanaullah Khan Baloch of the Balochistan National Party asked the minister to give assure the house that he would ask the State Bank not to create hurdles in setting up of industries in the province. "Give us this assurance, and we will provide you investors," he said.

The minister said he would take every step to facilitate private investors in Balochistan.

Earlier, in a written reply to a question by Dr Buledi, Mr Bosan said the government was providing support to the private sector through the marine fisheries department for the establishment of seafood processing facilities along the coast in Balochistan. He said considerable progress had been made in this regard.

The minister said five new processing plants had recently been established in the private sector in Gwadar. He said a plant was under construction at Pushukan and one at Sur in the Gwadar area and another one had started production at Jiwani. He said two seafood processing plants were functioning in Pasni.

He said the Balochistan Development Authority was establishing a state-of-the-art seafood processing plant at a cost of Rs150 million at Pasni.

The minister expressed the hope that with the installation of new plants, the processing capacity along Balochistan's coast would exceed 150 million tons per day.

Responding to a question by Dr Mohammad Ali Brohi, Mr Bosan said the government had arranged import of wheat from Australia, Russia and the United States. He said the government had finalized the import of a million tons of wheat through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

In response to a question by Chaudhry Anwar Bhinder, the minister said that of the Rs112.82 million allocated to the ministry for 2003-04, Rs112.44 million had been spent and Rs380,000 had been surrendered by the due date.