Parliament joint sitting on Tuesday

Both the Houses of the Parliament will be meeting Tuesday to approve a package for uplift of Balochistan at the joint sitting. President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the joint session of the Parliament in pursuance of the powers conferred upon him under the article 54(1) of the Constitution. Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza will chair the joint sitting as sources reveal that all arrangements for joint sitting have been finalized. A package for socio-economic uplift of Balochistan people was long awaited and a special committee headed by Senator Raza Rabbani burnt the mid-night oil to prepare this package.
Over the period, Balochistan people have been complaining of being ignored in development activities .
Development package, ending of alleged military operation and recovery of missing persons have been the outstanding demands of Baloch nationals. The package is hoped to address certain concerns of Baloch nationalists and usher in a new era of progress and prosperity of the province. During Pervez Musharraf’s era the Balochistan people had waged a struggle for their rights and operation against them had resulted in death of Nawab Akbar Bugti and number of other Baloch nationals. The government taking cognizance of the situation, embarked on various initiatives to address the grievances of Balochistan people.
President Asif Ali Zardari himself went to Quetta and apologized for discrimination meted out to people of the province in the past. He had also promised to alleviate their miseries and initiate a comprehensive plan for masses uplift. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani remained actively involved in consultation with all political parties for preparation of the package and took them into confidence. The very package to be announced Tuesday has raised great hopes among the Balochistan people as it would apparently be a consensus package. Balochistan is the biggest province with 43% of the total area of the country. Though, it is rich in resources, minerals and livestock, yet proper heed was not paid to fully exploit this potential. This effort of the government will definitely help overcome the sense of deprivation of Balochistan people and initiate development activities. This gesture of the government will also help promote political reconciliation, as enshrined in PPP manifesto, to restore the confidence of Baloch nationals and bring them to mainstream.