QUETTA: Interior Minis­ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has claimed that peace has been established in Balochistan by the joint efforts of the government and security agencies. He said the recently launched Operation Raddul Fasaad by the military would root out the menace of terrorism from the country.

Chaudhry Nisar was speaking at the 60th passing-out parade of the Balochistan Frontier Corps in Loralai on Saturday.

He said the FC and other security forces of the country were making all-out efforts to foil conspiracies against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

He said the CPEC would prove to be a game-changer for the economy not only of Pakistan, but of the entire region. Balochistan would be a great beneficiary of this project, he added.

Provincial Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai, Obaidullah Babit, Saleh Rehmat Baloch. Dur Muhammad Nasar, Inspector General of Frontier Corps Major General Nadeem Anjum, Inspector General of Balochistan Police Ahsan Mehboob and other senior civil and military officers were present on the occasion.

In all, 5,434 recruits passed out after completing their training, including 1,076 from Balochistan.

The interior minister said the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and police were playing a vital role in improving security situation in Balochistan and other parts of the country and for the purpose they had rendered great sacrifices.

He said some elements did not want peace and development in the province. They were taking money from enemies of Pakistan and trying to use young people of Balochistan for creating hurdles in development activities. But such elements could not deceive the people of this province who love their country. The people of Balochistan were brave and true patriots and they would foil all conspiracies against development of the province, he added.

He said Rs70 billion had been spent on the security of the country.

Earlier, the FC inspector general briefed the interior minister on the law and order situation in the province.

He said the force was running 64 schools in the province in which over 19,000 were registered. The FC provided free medical facilities to as many as 65,000 people.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2017