QUETTA: Khyber Pakh­tun­­­khwa Finance Minister Muzaffar Said has said that because of the wrong attitude of federal government there’s a sense of deprivation among people of both his province and Balochistan.

Speaking at inaugural cere­mony of the Islamic ban­king operations of the Bank of Khyber here on Friday, Mr Said urged the federal government to change its attitude towards the two provinces.

He said the two provinces faced similar problems and that they should mount joint efforts to solve them.

“Both Khyber Pakhtun­khwa and Balochistan are rich in natural resources, but a big chunk of the income from these resources goes to the federal government as the two are deprived of their due shares,” he said.

The income from these resources should be spent by the provinces for the development of their people, the minister said.

The people of Balochistan had been facing “many injustices” due to which the sense of deprivation among them had increased with the passage of time.

“The people of Balochis­tan are patriots and serious efforts should be made to solve their problems,” he added. He said the Pak-China Economic Corri­dor project would boost economic activity in the country.

The KP minister said his province supported Balochis­tan on the issue of proposed change in the route of the project. “If the route does get changed, the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan will incre­ase further,” he remarked.

There were enormous oppor­tunities for investment in Balochistan, he said, and called upon the government to solve the problems being faced by traders and growers of the province.

The bank’s managing director, Shamsul Qayyum, chief of its operations, Shabbir Sheikh, head of its Islamic banking operations, Mohammad Asad, and its chief Shariah adviser, Qazi Abdul Samad, were among the senior officers present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2015

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