Caretaker PM says state’s fight is not with Baloch but with terrorist organisations n Calls firing on vehicles of Maulana Fazl in D I Khan alarming n Says govt responding to security threats in parts of KP ahead of elections.

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Anwaarul Haq Kakar Monday said that issue of Baloch families from Balochistan was being projected in negative and in sharp contrast to realities as Balochs were standing with the state of Pakistan. 

Responding to differ­ent media queries dur­ing his visit to Business Facilitation Centre, the prime minister said that terrorists and armed militants had been in­volved in the killing of people of Balochistan. They were killing doc­tors, lawyers and teach­ers, he added.

He reassured the state would fight with them with all force as they could not be given license to kill people. 

The prime minister, referring to criticism by a section of the media, said that the govern­ment was not fighting with the Baloch fami­lies and regretted that efforts were made to spread confusion and mingle things together. The issue of families of Balochs had been blown out of proportion, he said, adding these ter­rorists had been tak­ing money and funding from RAW and killing people in the province. “State’s fight is with the terrorist organisations, not with the Baloch. These terrorists were accepting money and funding from (Indian intelligence agen­cy) RAW and they were killing people in Balochistan,” Kakar said. The caretaker prime min­ister said that about 90,000 peo­ple had been killed in the fight against terrorism but hardly nine accused had been convict­ed so far. The prime minister opined that the criminal justice system in the country required improvement. 

To a question, he mentioned that there was no restriction on freedom of expression. Re­plying to another question re­garding an alleged firing inci­dent in DI Khan over vehicles of Maulana Fazlur Rehman Amir of JUI-F, he said that it was alarm­ing, adding the government was responding to security threats in the southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with all the avail­able resources. 

The caretaker prime minister said that all the resources and security apparatus would be utilized to ensure the holding of peaceful polls on the election date and expressed the hope that they would be successful in this regard.

Also, Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday said that the develop­ment model, featuring a close li­aison between the government and private sector, could yield positive results for national eco­nomic growth. 

The prime minister, interact­ing with the business commu­nity at the Business Facilitation Center (BFC), said the enhanced interaction between the busi­ness community and the gov­ernment, would help increase employment opportunities, tax­ation as well as GDP growth.

He said that owing to the mu­tual cooperation between the government and the business community, the country was heading towards achieving eco­nomic stability and revival.

Lauding the idea of the BFC, he said the federal govern­ment would also play its part by establishing a liaison with the facility that would also be extended to Sindh, Khyber Pa­khtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. 

He also assured the feder­al government’s all-out facili­tation for the business sector through multiple measures. 

The prime minister said that the establishment of the insti­tutions like Lahore’s BFC in other cities, would be benefi­cial for the national economy.

He said that the facilitation of business community was among the priorities of the federal and provincial govern­ments.

During the visit, the prime minister was briefed about the functioning of the facilita­tion center. 

Prime Minister Kakar appreci­ated the efforts by Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi for fa­cilitation of the business sector as well as the role of the Punjab chief secretary and other pro­vincial secretaries in the BFC’s establishment that would serve as a one-window facility for the business community.

‘AFGHAN TRANSIT TRADE TRACKING SYSTEM’

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Mon­day directed to take additional steps for enhancement of fool­proof tracking system concern­ing Afghan Transit Trade. 

Chairing a review meeting over Afghan Transit Trade and anti-smuggling measures, he also asked for the formulation of an immediate mechanism for the establishment of an in­tegrated transit trade manage­ment system.

The meeting was attended by Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akthar, Caretaker Minister for Trade Ejaz Gohar, senior officials of Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa and Balochistan, rep­resentatives of the sensitive de­partments and other relevant officials, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. 

Addressing the participants, the prime minister said that one of the major reasons affect­ing the country’s economy was smuggling and the illegal move­ment of goods. 

Taking notice of negligence over the smuggling issue, he di­rected the chief secretary Ba­lochistan to completely change the administrative machinery of District Chaghi. 

He directed for initiation of criminal proceedings against any personnel, found involved in smuggling, leading to exem­plary punishment besides, ad­vising intelligence clearance of any officer before his or her deployment on sensitive posts of customs. 

The caretaker prime minister further directed that the check­ing system should be further strengthened at the Chaman, Torkham, Ghulam Khan check-posts besides, at the border ar­eas of Balochistan. 

Cargo checking should be im­proved and the number of Cus­toms staff at Chaman border be increased, he added.

He urged the Baloch people to work for the enhancement of businesses and employment in the province. 

A briefing over a progress re­port, compiled by an inqui­ry committee on Afghan Tran­sit Trade was also given to the prime minister. 

Appreciating the performance of the committee so far, he di­rected it to earnestly compile its recommendations. 

The meeting was informed that due to the steps of the gov­ernment, the smuggling of pe­troleum products from Iran had been reduced to a huge extent whereas cargo tracking system had started functioning from Taftan to Quetta.

PM DIRECTS PROVISION OF UREA FERTILIZER TO FARMERS WITH EASE

Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar Monday directed to make de­livery of Urea fertilizer to farm­ers across the country easy and convenient. He issued these di­rectives while presiding over a meeting regarding availability of Urea in the country. 

The Prime Minister said Urea fertilizer is available across the country as per the needs. How­ever, he directed to initiate le­gal action against elements in­volved in hoarding of fertilizer and its illegal profiteering.

He categorically stated that the government would not spare those who exploit farm­ers by hoarding fertilizer. He said strict vigilance would be carried out on supply and de­mand of Urea.

The Prime Minister further di­rected that all the Federal Min­istries should ensure support in operations to prevent hoarding of fertilizer by providing date regarding production and sup­ply Urea fertilizer to provincial governments. The meeting was informed that 200,000 metric tons of Urea is being imported for buffer stock.

The Caretaker Federal Min­ister for Finance Dr Sham­shad Akhtar, Minister for Energy Muhammad Ali, Min­ister for National Food Secu­rity Kausar Abdullah Malik, Minister for Commerce Go­har Ejaz, Caretaker provincial Chief Ministers and other con­cerned authorities attended the meeting.