(Asghar Ali Mubarak)
Balochistan (TNS) A budget of Rs 1028 billion was presented for the next financial year of Balochistan, Balochistan is a very important province of Pakistan and the current federal government is striving for the development of Balochistan.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan had announced a package for the development of Balochistan during his visit. The development of Balochistan is the development of Pakistan. Most international projects are being started in Balochistan.
The question is whether the development budget of Balochistan will be able to change the standard of living of the people. Looking at the recent development budget, we can say yes. The development budget of Balochistan can change the standard of living of the people. There is no doubt that basic facilities like electricity, water, gas are not available in Balochistan, while important needs like education, health, employment, infrastructure, industries and agriculture are only in name.
Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan in terms of area and the smallest in terms of population, is rich in many blessings including natural resources, mineral wealth, deep warm sea, but despite all this, the province is considered the lowest province in the country in terms of development ratio.
I myself was born in Sibi Balochistan and studied at Government High School Babu Mohalla Quetta. I am aware of the basic problems of Balochistan in the remote areas. But I am happy that basic needs have been discussed in the recent budget.
240 billion rupees have been proposed for development programs, 642 billion rupees for non-development budget, 10 percent increase in salaries of government employees and 7 percent increase in pensions.
It is hoped that the development budget of Balochistan will change the lifestyle of the people of Balochistan.
While presenting the budget in the Balochistan Assembly, Finance Minister Shoaib Noshirwani said that the government has achieved great successes in a short time, 100 percent of the development budget of the current fiscal year has been used, which has significantly improved the development work of Balochistan. During the current fiscal year, 21 percent of the development budget was allocated for roads, 18 percent for irrigation, 13 percent for education, 8 percent for health and 2.3 percent for energy. The government spent more than Rs 32 billion for improving the education sector, and more than Rs 46 billion was spent on providing clean water to the public, construction of dams and other water projects. The Finance Minister said that it is proposed to increase the salaries of government employees by 10 percent and the pension of retired employees by 7 percent. It is proposed to increase the disparity reduction allowance for eligible employees from grade 1 to 16 by 20 percent. The budget for the next fiscal year is a surplus budget of Rs 36.5 billion. In the budget, Rs 16.4 billion has been allocated for development and Rs 71 billion for non-developmental purposes for various projects of the health department and new posts. More than Rs 4 billion has been allocated for the health card scheme in Balochistan. The education sector is at the top of the government’s priorities. 1,170 contracts and 67 regular posts have been created for the education department. In the current fiscal year, Rs 28 billion have been allocated for ECE and school education. Grants of Rs 6.7 billion have been allocated for further improvement and reforms in education under the Global Partnership Education Grant. More than 1,200 posts have been created in the next fiscal year. In the next budget, Rs 19.8 billion has been allocated for school education in the development budget and Rs 101 billion in the non-development budget. Rs 22.81 billion was allocated for the Higher Education and Technical Education Department in the current fiscal year. This year, the budget of universities has been increased by 100 percent. It is proposed to allocate Rs 24 billion for the non-development budget of the Colleges Department and Rs 5 billion for development affairs. In the PSDP of the next fiscal year, it is proposed to allocate Rs 1,000 million for the activation of the sub-campuses of Mir Chakar Khan University. The Provincial Finance Minister said that agriculture is the backbone of our economy, Rs 10 billion is being allocated for the development affairs of the agriculture sector and Rs 16 billion 77 crore for non-development affairs. In the next fiscal year, Rs 26.9 million has been allocated for this sector in the development budget and Rs 1 billion 19 crore in the development budget. Rs 12 billion 90 crore has been allocated for the development affairs of the Local Government and Rural Development Department and Rs 42 billion for non-development affairs. In the next fiscal year, Rs 66 billion 80 crore has been allocated for the development budget and Rs 17 billion 48 crore in the non-development budget for the Communications and Construction Department. The establishment of law and order is of utmost importance for the development of the province. Law enforcement agencies have established peace in the province. In the next financial year, Rs 83.7 billion has been allocated for non-developmental and Rs 3 billion for development purposes to maintain law and order. Rs 5.3 billion has been allocated for non-developmental affairs of the Irrigation Department and Rs 42.7 billion for development matters. Rs 463.5 million has been allocated for non-developmental affairs of the Transport Department and Rs 543 million for development matters. It has been decided to run the People’s Train service in collaboration with Pakistan Railways. This train service will initially run between Sariab and Kuchlak, suburbs of Quetta. The existing 5 stations of Pakistan Railways will be upgraded while 2 new stations will also be constructed.There is no doubt that the biggest problem of the province is the law and order situation. The law and order situation has badly affected the development work and life in Balochistan. The daily incidents of unrest have paralyzed education, health, development work and social life, while the feeling of insecurity has increased among the people. People imagine that if they go out, no accident will happen, while parents are not even allowing their children to go on picnics. While the recent extremism has affected the living system, it has also made the people afraid. Due to the law and order situation, many problems arise, the first of which is economic instability. If the law and order situation is bad in any area, the business community does not invest in such areas. In such a situation, if the business community does not invest, it will become difficult to create employment opportunities there and due to unemployment, the youth will be attracted to negative activities. Apart from this, unrest also harms tourism in the province. If tourists do not come, the concerns of increasing problems of the small business community increase. If peace is restored in the province, half of Balochistan’s problems can be solved. Billions of rupees are allocated for development every year, but where is this budget spent? Because the province has neither good educational institutions nor proper health facilities. In addition, Balochistan is the only province in the country where there are no facilities like motorways. The unemployment rate in the province is increasing with every passing year. 60 percent of Balochistan’s population is youth. Of which, according to 2023 data, 32 percent are literate, while the rest of the youth are either skilled or earn their living through trade. Government departments are not able to create jobs for educated youth due to lack of funds, while industries in the province are also non-existent. In addition, there is no option for freelancing for the educated class because internet service is not good in 50 to 60 percent of the areas of the province. Most of the youth of the province are involved in border trade, but due to the closure of the Pak-Iran and Pak-Afghan borders due to government policies, this youth is also becoming unemployed. Balochistan province is also unique in that it has a long border with Iran and Afghanistan on one side. On the other side, there is a vast coastline from Jiwani to Gwadar. Balochistan province is fortunate in that it has not one or two but four ports with the best location. Gwadar, Pasni, Jiwani, Peshukan are located at the mouth of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. By making the ports on the vast coastline of Balochistan modern cities, we can bring them up to the level of the ports of Chabahar and Muscat, but this is possible only if the government pays attention to this.
Despite the presence of mineral reserves worth billions of dollars in copper, gypsum, gold, marble, oil and gas, they have not yet been exploited.
If these hidden treasures were dug out and brought out and used, how far would Pakistan have come in the journey of development? We must finally use these hidden treasures in order to keep pace with the world in the race for development.
Nature has produced all kinds of fruits in Balochistan, including walnuts, figs, almonds, cherries, apricots, peaches and grapes. If the farmers and cultivators here are provided with facilities to preserve these fruits in a modern way and sell them abroad, it can benefit thousands of families. If dates alone are sold in the world market with appropriate modern packaging, a huge amount of foreign exchange can be earned annually. Balochistan is also lucky in that the most cattle are raised here. After fruits, it is also the most important province in terms of the number of cattle. Herding is the biggest industry here. Just as it is the most prominent in the purchase and sale of fish and shrimp due to the sea. Like the Kachi Canal, if a canal system is laid in other areas of the province and sea water is made usable and transported to different areas through canals, this province can also become self-sufficient in food grains.
Only thanks to Gwadar, the path of trade and industrial development is being opened in the entire province, thus providing employment to millions of youth here. The foundation of a prosperous province can be laid by bringing the barren lands here to use. The people of Balochistan, including both Baloch and Pashtun, are sincerely eager for the development of their province. Fortunately, the provincial cabinet is also working hard to solve the problems of the people and develop the resources of the province. Thus, the provincial administration works day and night to eliminate all the negative actions and propaganda of the elements opposing the development of the province. It is necessary that the federal government and the provincial government sit together and find solutions to these problems so that this province, full of mineral wealth and natural treasures, and its residents can live a life of peace and prosperity. It is hoped that the Balochistan development budget will change the lifestyle of the people of Balochistan.
