QUETTA, Nov 19: Acting provincial amir of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), Maulana Noor Muhammad, has said that the federal government should declare Balochistan a tax-free zone to facilitate investment in the province.

According to a statement issued here, MNA Maulana Noor Muhammad was talking to delegations from different areas of the province, which called on him on Thursday.

Referring to a report related to drought-like situation in Balochistan, which he submitted to the president and prime minister, he attributed the root cause of the drought to vices, keeping distance from Shariat and wrong policies of the government. If people wanted to rid of the famine, they must strictly follow the principles of Islam, he said.

Maulana Noor Muhammad said farmers and growers were badly-hit by the seven-year drought in different districts of the province, which destroyed orchards and vegetable crops.

He said decrease in underground water level had deteriorated the situation for Zamindars, saying that majority of the people in Balochistan depended on agriculture, but the famine had forced victims to migrate to other areas for sustenance.

The JUI-F leader stressed that the government should announce a relief package for them.