Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday where he is expected to announce a “big package” for farmers and discuss the law-and-order situation of the province, his office confirmed.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest in terms of size yet its most backward by almost all economic indicators, was battered by flash floods when torrential rains wreaked havoc in March this year. Torrential floods inundated roads in Kharan and Kech districts and inflicted misery on farmers, who had to suffer economic hardship when a large number of their crops were washed away.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Quetta for a day-long visit,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement, adding that he was received by Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan and Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti upon his arrival.
“The prime minister will also announce a big package on behalf of the federal and Balochistan government for the development and prosperity of Balochistan’s farmers,” the PMO said.
The prime minister is being accompanied by federal ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Awais Khan Laghari, Ataullah Tarar, Jam Kamal Khan and minister of state Ali Pervaiz Malik. Sharif’s office said he is also expected to meet the provincial assembly’s lawmakers as well during his visit.
The restive province shares porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, and has reeled from the effects of an insurgency launched by ethnic Baloch militants since decades. Baloch nationalists have long accused the Pakistani government of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s abundant natural resources, saying it has led to political marginalization and economic exploitation. The state denies these allegations.
Sharif separately met the Balochistan governor and chief minister to discuss the law-and-order situation of the province and administrative affairs, the PMO said.
On Sunday, the Pakistani prime minister undertook a day-long trip to Pakistan’s commercial and industrial hub Karachi, where he met members of the business community and inspected port operations. Sharif directed authorities to improve transportation of goods at the Karachi port, noting that Pakistan held a key geographical position in the region and provided the most convenient sea trade route for the Central Asian states.
The prime minister’s visit to the militancy-hit province also takes place as the government seeks to drum up support for a new military operation it announced last month titled “Operation Azm-e-Istehkam” or Resolve for Stability.
The government announced the operation last month after a meeting of the Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP) attended by senior military leaders and top government officials from all provinces, including the PTI-backed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
Pakistan’s opposition parties criticized the government’s move, accusing it of not taking lawmakers into confidence over the matter. PM Sharif subsequently clarified the operation would not be launched before it is debated in parliament, adding that Azm-e-Istehkam would only mobilize military operations that have already been launched against militants and aim to eliminate them from the country for good.