Non-cooperative attitude from Capital ,Balochistan to boycott NEC meeting

QUETTA (Ghulam Yaseen) – The Balochistan government has announced it will not attend the National Economic Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for today (Tuesday) in protest against the federal government’s “non-cooperative attitude” towards the province.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo on Monday.

“I and none of the NEC members from Balochistan will attend the meeting as Islamabad is continuously ignoring the needs and financial demands of the province,” he said.

All the assurances and promises made by the federal government have not been implemented. This attitude is very disappointing. The center has not released Rs10 billion announced for the rehabilitation of the flood victims, the chief minister added.

He had hinted at skipping the NEC meeting through a policy statement on Sunday. The statement accused Islamabad of a “discriminatory attitude” as it was “denying the constitutional rights” of the people of Balochistan.

Mr Bizenjo said due to the lack of resources, the flood victims were still waiting for government assistance. The provincial government has asked the center to include the projects suggested by the Balochistan members of the Senate and the National Assembly in the federal PSDP, but no step has so far been taken.

Due to the limited development funds of Balochistan, the members cannot give development funds to the Senate and the National Assembly.

However, the provincial government has taken steps despite precarious financial situation for rehabilitation of flood-stricken people, he added.

A day ago

Balochistan CM lambasts Centre for ‘not providing funds’

 (CM) Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Sunday lambasted the federal government for ‘ignoring the province and not providing funds’, 

In a policy statement, the chief minister claimed that not a ‘single penny’ out of the Rs10 billion grant announced by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif for the rehabilitation of flood affectees was provided to his province.

CM Bizenjo expressed concerns over the non-fulfilment of promises and the cold-shoulder attitude of the federal government towards the problems of the province where a sense of deprivation already prevails. “Despite several requests, the prime minister is not giving time for a meeting,” he added.

He further said that this attitude of the Centre would not be tolerated. The provincial chief executive accused the Centre of halting the release of dues of the provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for a long time.

“We are allies of the government in Centre but the promises made to us are not being fulfilled,” he complained. In this situation, the Balochistan government was unable to present a “balanced budget” for the fiscal year 2023-24, he added.

Bizenjo also warned that Balochistan would boycott the upcoming meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) as the federal government was not sincere in fulfilling its promises.