QUETTA: Provincial Minister for Agriculture Mir Asadullah Baloch has urged the federal government to announce a package of at least Rs50 billion for the growers of Balochistan, adding that such help will bring an agricultural revolution in the province.

Speaking at a function organised by the Balochistan Agriculture Officers Association on Monday, he said that through giving attention and resources, the province could be developed and through its vast land it could ensure food security for the country.

The minister said that the future of the country depended on democracy. In the democratic process, the opinion of the people must be respected, he added.

“Those who come by parachute cannot protect the interests of the country and the nation,” he said.

The minister said that to make the country and the nation prosperous, they all must work together and think beyond ethnicity and religion. “The tragedy of our country is that despite the passage of 74 years, we are not one nation as we are still divided into Punjabi, Baloch, Pashtun and Sindhi nations,” he lamented.

He said some responsibilities also lay with the “masterminds and strategists” for running the country but injustice continued till date and problems were arising due to lack of justice.

He said that those depicting negative image of Balochistan at the national and international level would never succeed in their intentions. “We will promote the positive image of Balochistan before the world and that is why we have brought a change in Balochistan,” he said.

Mr Baloch said Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo would formulate policies in the wider interest of the province and the people, which would develop the province and improve living standards of the people.

“We consider our land as our mother and we should all love and cherish it. If this passion is in everyone’s heart, then the day is not far when Balochistan will be counted among the developed areas of the country,” said Mr Baloch said, who is also secretary general of Balochistan National Party-Awami.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2021