Govt spending huge funds to develop Balochistan: President
By Our Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD—President General Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that timely completion of development projects in Balochistan, on which the government was spending billions of rupees, would go a long way in bringing the province at par with the developed areas of the country.
The President made these remarks while presiding over a meeting, also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, to review the situation in Balochistan.
The meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation in Balochistan and held an in-depth discussion on the development projects in the province.
President Musharraf emphasized on the need of skill development, technical education as they should lead to job creation and contribute to socio-economic uplift of the people.
He also underscored the need for timely completion of Mega and micro developmental projects in the province.
The President, on the occasion, directed that steps should be taken to make Gwadar Port operational at the earliest.
The meeting was the second in a series being chaired by the President to monitor the pace of development work across the country. The first meeting on FATA development was held last week.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in his remarks said that in addition to mega projects, the government was taking various measures to provide basic amenities of life, such as electricity, clean drinking water, gas etc., at the grassroots level.
He also mentioned about the efforts to provide employment opportunities to the youth of Balochistan.
The meeting noted that 33,000 permanent jobs have been created by the federal government for the people of Balochistan.
It was also decided to increase provincial quota for Balochistan from 3.3 per cent to 5 per cent in accordance with the 1998 Census.
Prime Minister Aziz said that focussed efforts were being made to explore province's potential in the fields like agriculture, fisheries, livestock, tourism, oil, gas and mineral.
The Governor and Chief Minister Balochistan briefed the meeting about the pace of development projects and security measures being taken to improve law and order in the province.
President Musharraf expressed satisfaction over the visible improvement in law and order in the province, which he stressed must be ensured.
Governor Balochistan, Awais Ghani, Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf , Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) and other concerned officials also attended the meeting.