‘Govt wants to resolve Balochistan Issue’

The 46th Session of the National Assembly began on Friday with Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi in the chair.
At the outset of the session‚ MNA elect Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan Nasir took oath as the member of the National Assembly. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath.
The chair announced the panel of the Presiding Officer for the current session.
It includes Nawab Muhammad Yusuf Talpur‚ Yasmeen Rehman‚ Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary‚ Bushra Rehman‚ Khawaja Sohail Mansoor and Usman Advocate.
The National Assembly was informed on Friday that the government wanted to bring the people of Balochistan into the mainstream and believed in resolving the issues through dialogue by approaching all the stakeholders across the board.
Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet and Establishment Division Khurram Jahangir Wattoo told the House during question hour that under the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package out of 61 policy actions 42 have been implemented while other proposed actions are in various stages of implementation.
He said the policy actions have been divided into constitutional‚ administrative‚ political and economic categories as envisaged by the federal government.
To a question‚ Parliamentary Secretary for Communication Chaudhry Saeed Iqbal informed the House that a number of highways were damaged by floods during last year and this year. He said the highways damaged during the last year have been fully prepared while the Damaged Assessment Need of the highways damaged this year is underway and the repair work will be completed after the completion of the assessment.
To another question‚ he said that an amount of above 813 million rupees has been collected from Kohat Toll Plaza during the last five years.
He said special security arrangements have also been made for the plaza and two units of Pakistan Army and one Platoon of Frontier Constabulary have been deployed.
To a question‚ Parliamentary Secretary for Information Technology Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan said that the domestic production of rice exceeds the domestic demand and we exports upto three point five million tones annually.
He said although this year the production of rice decreased due to delay in monsoon rains even then we will be able to export three million tones of rice and the price will also remain stable.
Khurram Jahangir Wattoo said that a Special Cabinet Committee headed by Defence Minister Syed Naveed Qamar has been constituted to assess the reasons for breakdown in the law and order in Balochistan‚ the options available to the authorities on the desired course of action and to make recommendations.
He said that the committee will also hold meetings with all the political leadership of Balochistan to resolve the issue.
To a question‚ Minister for Capital Administration and Development Nazar Muhammad Gondal informed the House in a written reply that free medical treatment is being provided to the patients of Cancer‚ AIDS and Dialysis at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
He said that about one thousand patients of Cancer have been treated and medical facility was provided to 178 AIDS patients in PIMS during the last two years.
He said during the current year Dialysis facilities have been provided to 4580 patients during this year while 670 were treated last year.
The Minister informed that a total of 1039 AIDS patients have been registered in PIMS during the last four years and out of these 361 were provided medical treatment.
To a point of order raised by PML-N member Tehmina Daultana‚ Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told the house that this government apologized to the Baloch people for the excesses committed by others.
He said that all the political parties must join hands for resolving the problems being faced by the Baloch people. He said the present government took a number of policy decisions with the consensus with other political parties for uplift of Balochistan.
He said that in Balochistan five percent area is under police control while the remaining is controlled by FC. He said those who only criticize the government policies‚ come forward with their proposals for the solution of this issue.
Later the House was adjourned to meet on Monday at five pm.