DERA BUGTI, Aug 30: Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad conceded here on Thursday that negligence and continuous absence of officials from their offices had caused problems for the people of Dera Bugti and resulted in uncertainty and insecurity.

He was visiting Dera Bugti and Sui in accordance with a Supreme Court order along with other senior bureaucrats.

The chief secretary said the district administration had failed to give relief and security to the people of the troubled area.

However, he said the provincial government would take all possible steps for development and prosperity of the most backward district of Balochistan. He also tried to dispel a perception that Dera Bugti was a ‘no-go’ area.

It was the first visit by senior officials of the Balochistan government to Dera Bugti after a long time.

Officials briefed the chief secretary about the performance of their departments and difficulties faced by them.

However, it was observed during the meeting that a majority of the officials posted in Dera Bugti, including doctors, teachers, engineers and heads of various departments, never went to the area and received their salaries sitting in their homes.

Even the deputy commissioner and district police chief live in Sui instead of Dera Bugti, the district headquarters.

A treasury official was unaware of the number of employees he was paying salaries to. Most of the educational institutions, including an intermediate college in Dera Bugti and girls’ school in Sui, had not been functioning for two years while the teachers and other staff were getting salaries.

“A teacher belonging to Multan and posted in Dera Bugti has never visited his school over the past 14 years but has been receiving his salary regularly,” an official told Dawn.