QUETTA: Balochistan’s Additional Chief Secre­tary Omer Khan Babar has said that not a single penny of annual development funds will be allowed to lapse at the end of the current financial year and 50 per cent of funds meant for development projects have already been spent on new and ongoing schemes.

Speaking at a press conference here on Friday after a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Mr Babar refuted reports that a huge amount of development funds had lapsed during previous financial years and said that some people were making this propaganda for their vested interests.

“I should be held responsible if a single penny of the development budget gets lapsed at the end of current financial year,” Mr Babar said and held out an assurance that the remaining funds would be used for new and ongoing schemes in the budget.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2017