QUETTA - Balochistan Assembly has passed 96 legislation on various important provincial issues in its five years tenure since the provincial government came into power in 2018.
The 11th Assembly has passed and amended 11 acts in its first parliamentary year started on August 13, 2018 including The Balochistan Government Employees Benevolent Fund Act, The University of Gwadar Act, The Balochistan Finance Act, The Balochistan Essential Education Service Act and many others.
The Assembly has passed important and efficient laws in the health sector including Balochistan Mental Health Act 2019, Balochistan Healthcare Commission Act. The provincial assembly had also approved a Bill for establishing a university in Gwadar on priority and passed The Balochistan Universities Act on April 19, 2022 to create maximum opportunities for students to get higher education.
Highlighting the provincial Assembly progress, Minister Muhammad Khan Lehri said that the government had enforced many laws and worked hard to ensure the protection of the public interest. The coalition government led by Balochistan Awami Party had been taken all measures for the wider interest of the province, he added. The protection of resources of Balochistan and the rights of its people was top priority of the government for which a large number of new laws were enacted besides amending different existing laws, he added.
Legislation was the primary responsibility of the assembly and it has been continued to fulfill its responsibility as need arises, it added. He was of the view that it was our top priority to bring improvements in the health sector because of that Balochistan Health Policy 2018-2030 had passed unanimously. He said during the legislative process, The Balochistan Infrastructure Development CESS Act, The Balochistan Civil Court (Amendment) Act, The Balochistan Housing and Town Planning Act, The Balochistan Charities (Registration, Regulation and Facilitation) Act were passed while the government managed to establish Regional Quality Control board under the supervision of commissioners and health director general respectively. He said the assembly approved Benevolent Fund Bill to financially support the civil servants on the occasions of marriage and death. He said the amendment bill of Balochistan Public Service Commission rules also brought under discussion to change the role of the commission and extend the number of members to 12 including two female members.
He said the legislation aimed at making massive reforms in the education sector to bring it at par with other provinces and international standards. He informed that the provincial cabinet had passed The Balochistan Public Finance Management (Amendment) Act, The Balochistan Factories Act, The Balochistan Board of Technical and Vocational Act, Balochistan Infrastructure Development CESS 2019 and imposed one per cent tax on buses, aeroplanes and ships entering in Balochistan.
