Due to the federal government’s “cold shoulder attitude” towards the resource-rich but underdeveloped province, Balochistan’s chief minister has opted not to attend the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting set for tomorrow (Tuesday).
Balochistan CM NEC meeting: Due to a lack of funding, Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo stated on Monday that the provincial government could not distribute development monies to the elected members of the provincial legislature and the Senate. “The federal government has broken every promise it made.”
The anticipation of the federal government presenting the budget next week has prompted Bizenjo’s choice. The outlay for the federal budget 2023-2024 is expected to be Rs16,600 billion, or Rs16.6 trillion, which is a significant increase compared to the allocated Rs9.5 trillion for the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023.
The NEC, which the prime minister leads, is the nation’s top forum for discussing macroeconomic and development issues. The premier chooses four members, while each province contributes two representatives to form the council.
Bizenjo has expressed similar worries and urged attention to the province’s growth.
He has served as the province chief minister twice.
On Sunday, Bizenjo announced that the provincial government would “consider attending” the NEC meeting if the Centre assured its projects would receive top priority.
Bizenjo asserted that if the federal government is not serious about keeping its promises, Balochistan will not attend the NEC conference. The federation’s stance demonstrated that the meeting would be meaningless for them as in the past.
In August last year, Sharif promised an Rs. 10 billion grant for Balochistan flood victims. The severe floods and monsoon rains claimed the lives of around 1,000 people and caused billion-dollar property damage.