PM stresses upon combined efforts, energies to overcome deprivation of Balochistan province.

QUETTA -- Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that lack of facilities, neglect and sense of deprivation led the Balochistan province to backwardness which could be overcome through collective efforts by diversion of its due shares of energies and resources to the province.

Addressing a ceremony after performing groundbreaking of the dualization of I- section of 330-kms Khuzdar-Kuchlak sections of N-25 Chaman-Karachi national highway, he regretted that despite gifted with huge natural resources and geographical location, the province had faced different challenges.

He said rich with Sui natural gas reserves, the people of the province had not been given its due benefits, adding the true potential of Sandak, coal mines, Reko Diq reserves of gold and copper could be the harbinger of development and prosperity.

He said Reko Diq mines exploration had remained an issue of litigation in the past frittering away precious time and national wealth.

The Prime Minister regretted that they could not settle the issue and as a whole and individually, they had failed to meet the expectation of the people of the province.

Acting Governor Jan Muhammad Jamali, Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mehmood and Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasey, Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, Israr Tareen and provincial ministers were also present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister said that they should not live in the past and keep on repenting rather they should move ahead with unity by learning from the past experiences. He said in the past, during 2000 to 2014, terrorism had wreaked havoc and the Baloch and Pashtuns living in the province bore the brunt like the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Both provinces had been given unmatched sacrifices against the scourge of terrorism, he said and lauded the sacrifices of the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies that had helped defeated the specter of terrorism.

The Prime Minister referring to recent incidents of terrorism, said that they knew the factors but with unity and solidarity, the nation would defeat it. He stressed upon a collective decision-making power which could remove all the hurdles and enable them to confront the emerging challenges.

The Prime Minister further stressed that the narrative about South and North Balochistan should be shunned, rather it should be their...