Govt wants resolution of Balochistan issue through dialogue, NA told

The National Assembly was informed on Friday that the government wanted to bring the people of Balochistan into the mainstream and believed in resolving their issues through dialogue by approaching all stakeholders across the board.
This was stated by Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet and Establishment Division Khurram Jahangir Wattoo as the 46th session of the National Assembly began on Friday with Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi in the chair.
At the onset of the session‚ MNA-elect Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan Nasir took oath as member of the House. The oath was administered by Deputy Speaker Kundi.
The chair also announced the panel of the presiding officer for the current session that includes Nawab Muhammad Yusuf Talpur‚ Yasmeen Rehman‚ Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary‚ Bushra Rehman‚ Khawaja Sohail Mansoor and Usman Advocate.
The parliamentary secretary for cabinet and establishment division told the House during the question hour that under the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package, 42 of 61 policy actions had been implemented while other proposed actions were in various stages of implementation.
Wattoo said the policy actions had 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 last year and this year. He said the highways damaged in last year’s floods had been fully repaired, while the Damaged Assessment Need of the highways damaged this year was underway, adding that repair work would be completed after the completion of the assessment.
To another question‚ he said an amount of over Rs 813 million had been collected from Kohat Toll Plaza during the last five years.
Iqbal said special security arrangements had also been made for the installation and two units of Pakistan Army and a platoon of Frontier Constabulary had been deployed for its safety.
To a question‚ Parliamentary Secretary for Information Technology Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan said domestic production of rice exceeded the domestic demand and the country was exporting up to 3.5 million tonnes annually.
He said although the production of rice decreased this year due to delay in monsoon rains, even then “we will be able to export three million tonnes of rice and the domestic price will also remain stable”.
Khurram Jahangir Wattoo said a special cabinet committee headed by Defence Minister Syed Naveed Qamar had 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 the committee would also hold meetings with 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 was being provided to patients of cancer‚ AIDS and dialysis at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.