Editorial: Balochistan’s development-oriented budget

For the first in three decades, Balochistan has received substantial amount of resources, thanks to the ongoing political struggle for right and keeping the Federation under severe pressure and also the efforts made by the Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani in presenting the case of poor and backward Balochistan untiringly.

The total size of the Provincial Budget is Rs 152 billions with an expenditure of Rs 26 billion for development. Rs 22 billions had been earmarked for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) while the foreign agencies and friendly countries will be spending around Rs 4 billion on development of Balochistan. The special feature of the budget is the commitment of the Japanese Government to provide Rs 800 million for rehabilitation and repair of Pasni Fish Harbour. The allocation is depicted in the budget document, a rare commitment made public.

For the past many years, the Pasni Fish Harbour had been silted up and its navigational channel blocked for fishing activities. The Federal Government had virtually failed to rehabilitate it, or the KPT was able to desilt the navigational channel keeping the Harbour closed for ever. However, the Chief Minister and his Fisheries Minister did not lost hopes and they made a request to Japanese friends to provide financial and technical assistance on permanent basis to rehabilitate and make Harbour functional in this Central Mekran Coast defending tens of thousands of jobs of local fishermen.

In all, the budget is very good. It had targeted to reduce the debt burden by paying back costly Cash Development Loan and discharge the public debt amounting to Rs 10 billion. Earlier, the Federal Government had picked up the Bank overdraft of the Jam Yusuf Government and the Federal Government is paying Rs 17.5 billion unauthorized loan from State Bank of Pakistan by the Muslim Leaguers. In any way, Balochistan Government had made a saving of billions of rupees of the provincial exchequer by paying back the public debt and the Cash Development Loan, two costly loans that remained a serious burden on the Balochistan Government.

Yet another special feature is an increased receipts from the Federal Government. In all revenue receipts are mentioned at Rs 115 billions and capital receipts at Rs 29.3 billions. Besides this, the Balochistan Government will arrears on wellhead price of natural gas and Gas Development Surcharge amounting to over Rs 12 billions. It is a big achievement of the Balochistan Government boosting its revenue receipts from the Federal Government. It includes straight transfers of Rs 16.3 billions and grants Rs 12 billions. Balochistan got almost double from the Divisible Pool of resources by receiving Rs 83 billions while the last fiscal year, Balochistan got merely Rs 37 billions.

Yet another special feature of the Provincial Budget is an announcement to create the Board of Investment in Balochistan inviting foreign investment to this most backward but resource rich province of Pakistan. The Federal Government had never encouraged foreign investors, other than Chinese, to come to Balochistan and make significant investment in various sectors of the provincial economy. If it was not the case, then first to come to Balochistan were our Iranian neighbours who always remained ready to make any amount of investment from pin to plane. There must of a change in the mindset of planners and decision makers treating Balochistan at par with other provinces, mainly Punjab where the Chief Minister is allowed to receive foreign delegations in dozens a month. It is impossible for any foreign to pay a visit to Gwadar. Even the foreign diplomats in Quetta were unable to visit Gwadar or other coastal region of Balochistan.

The budget had earmarked a sizable amount of money for revamping Balochistan Levies making it a model and community police in the whole region. Similarly, the Budget announced to create many jobs for jobless youth. A huge spending in the local economy should go a long way in bringing a qualitative change in the life of the poor people in the remote regions of Balochistan. For the first time there is a huge inflow of resources into the local and regional economies. For the past six decades, those regions were deliberately denied resources for development, rather making the life of poor people sustainable in absence of resources. The Provincial Budget should retain this trend of substantial inflow of resources from the major population centres to remote corners of Balochistan. There is no justification of establishing seven major hospitals and three Universities in Quetta alone. This policy had developed contempt against the rural Balochs and Pakhtuns and the Quetta Mafia is trying to retain all the existing facilities and privilege using questionable tactics.