Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday stressed that consensus among provinces was necessary for unity and ensuring the “true spirit of a federation” within the country.
Addressing the Balochistan Workshop in Islamabad today, Prime Minister Shehabz recalled several challenges faced by the people of Balochistan. Noting that some of these challenges required financial resources, the prime minister recalled the meetings held in Lahore ahead of the 2009 National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which he had attended as the then chief minister of Punjab.
“I would like to mention in all humility that in Lahore, the four chief ministers were meeting, along with their finance ministers. The three-day marathon session went on without interruption; of course, when night fell, we would go and rest for a few hours and then meet again the next morning.”
He noted that the then Balochistan CM Aslam Raisani had made the acceptance of the NFC Award conditional on “100 per cent financial resources being added to Balochistan’s share”.
“I said that Punjab is ready to contribute any amount required to meet the demand of my brother Aslam Raisani, and this is what we call the true spirit of a federation and what we call four brothers living under one roof,” Chief Minister Shehbaz said.
“The question now is how to address these challenges so that the people of Balochistan (Baloch, Pashtuns and all other communities living there) not only own Pakistan but also feel like active participants and beneficiaries of economic growth.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz noted that Balochistan’s problems “will persist tomorrow too, but to solve them, one thing must be first: that Pakistan is our home and we have to put out the fire together.”
Throughout his speech, the Prime Minister stressed the need for unity among the people of all provinces.
“Baloch people have always been very, very generous to those segments of society who migrated to Quetta or lived there for years. Pashtuns, of course, are part of Balochistan, Punjabi migrants and also other tribes living in Balochistan,” he said.
“For a long time there was complete harmony and peace between the first sectors of society,” the Prime Minister stressed.
He further said, “When I talk about the brothers, sisters and children of Balochistan, I do not mean any geographical division, because first we are Pakistanis, then Punjabis, Balochs, Sindhis or Pashtuns.
“What happened then was that a distance developed between us and grievances and grievances arose even though terrorism had been completely eradicated in Pakistan in 2018,” he said, calling it a “heartbreaking” question that needed answering.
Prime Minister Shehbaz recalled that the Regional Development Cooperation Highway (also known as N-25), which connects Karachi to Chaman, was infamously known as the khooni road (killer highway) in Balochistan due to “accidents occurring there every other day.”
The prime minister highlighted his government’s decision in April this year to divert money saved from lower oil prices to development projects in Balochistan, omitting to provide relief to fuel consumers.
“This murderous highway has a [reconstruction] Estimate 300 billion to 350 billion rupees,” he said, adding that petrol and diesel prices decreased by 8 to 10 rupees per litre. “I estimated it amounted to 180 billion rupees per year. If I maintain that, then this murderous path can become a path of peace.
“My only reason for this decision was harmony, uniting provincial affection and promoting unity.” […] These are the decisions through which Pakistan will definitely be able to overcome these challenges,” the Prime Minister said.
