By Saleem Shahid

PROVINCES

US charity shuts offices in Pakistan

QUETTA: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani assured the people of Balochistan on Monday that the government would take concrete steps to close for good the ‘chapter of atrocities’ committed in the province over the past 63 years.

Addressing a press conference at the end of a day-long visit to Quetta, the prime minister conceded that there was a trust gap between the people of the province and Islamabad because of the atrocities committed by the past regimes. “The government is aware of the problem and it believes in practical steps.”

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and federal ministers Ayatullah Durrani and Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd also attended the press conference.

Mr Gilani said the government had launched the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-i-Balochistan to rebuild the confidence of Baloch people in the federation. The package was supplemented by the incorporation of gas royalty, NFC Award, 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy.

The prime minister said that under the package over 5,000 youths would get government jobs soon. The process of written test and interviews has been completed. He said that women would also get jobs under the package.

Mr Gilani said the Balochistan package was an initiative and not a complete solution to problems of the province. He said that giving more shares to the provinces in national resources would promote harmony.

Answering a question about provincial autonomy, the prime minister said that the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee headed by Senator Raza Rabbani would meet soon to discuss the issue.

About implementation of the 18th Amendment, he said that it was the responsibility of the institutions concerned and the government. “All institutions should fulfil their responsibilities and we need justice from the judiciary in this regard,” he said.

Mr Gilani said the government respected the judiciary and would implement all its decisions, adding that the 18th Amendment contained a comprehensive formula for sharing responsibilities which required the judiciary to dispense justice and federal, provincial and district governments to make pro-people policies.

He said the government wanted to strengthen institutions, and not personalities. Good governance required all institutions to work within their parameters.

Answering a question about missing people, the prime minister said he had announced the formation of a judicial commission and requested the Supreme Court chief justice to suggest names for it. A committee of the federal government was also working on the issue and action will be taken on the basis of reports of the commission and the committee.

He said there were some ambiguities in lists of missing people provided by different people and asked the provincial government to provide validated lists.

The law and order situation, Mr Gilani said, was a provincial issue and the federal government did not want to interfere in affairs of provincial governments. However, he said that a meeting of heads of law-enforcement agencies would he held soon to evolve a joint strategy for the purpose.

The prime minister said that all possible help and assistance would be provided to the people affected by the tropical cyclone in Balochistan and Sindh.

NATIONALISTS:

Responding to questions at the Command and Staff College, the prime minister said he had personally contacted the people concerned and they assured him that they would work for national interests. “We have taken all stakeholders, even Baloch nationalists, on board to maintain peace in the province.”

He said President Asif Ali Zardari had visited Quetta and apologised to the Baloch people for atrocities committed by dictatorial governments.

Mr Gilani said the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan was trying to resolve all issues by political, economic and constitutional means.

He said that poverty, illiteracy and discrimination were the root cause of terrorism, adding that the government was trying to bring about changes at the grassroots level and the situation would gradually improve.

Mr Gilani said he was not against formation of new provinces, but the issue would open a Pandora’s Box in the current situation. He said people who wanted new provinces should adopt a legal course for the purpose.