QUETTA, Balochistan: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that Balochistan’s mineral wealth belonged first and foremost to its people and called for joint federal-provincial efforts to develop the resources.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the Balochistan National Workshop, Shehbaz said the province needed capital and technical expertise to exploit mineral deposits that remained largely undeveloped.
He said cooperation between the federal and provincial governments was essential to convert those resources into economic benefits for local communities.
Meanwhile, the prime minister acknowledged that Balochistan faced legitimate grievances and said existing resources should be distributed fairly to support hospitals, schools and other public services.
Shehbaz also said the federal government was willing to hold a “Grand Dialogue” to address the province’s concerns through consultation.
He said violence could not be justified in the pursuit of resources or political demands and condemned targeted killings. The prime minister said the federal government had allocated Rs415 billion for the Karachi-Chaman Expressway.
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He also said Islamabad had contributed Rs40 billion towards the installation of 20,000 tubewells in Balochistan.
Separately, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, said that peace and stability were essential for attracting investment and turning Balochistan’s natural resources into economic gains, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations.
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Shehbaz said Pakistan’s development depended on progress across all four provinces and called for relations with Balochistan to move forward through mutual trust and consultation.
