PM believes in provincial autonomy: Ali Muhammad

ISLAMABAD, Mar 10 (APP):Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan Tuesday said Prime Minister Imran Khan believed in provincial autonomy.

Responding to a calling attention notice at the floor of the lower house of the Parliament, he said the prime minister was a national leader who was making utmost efforts in a bid to provide legal rights to Pakhtuns and Balochis.

He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government would not support any such public sector development programme (PSDP) which would not be addressing the issues of Balochistan and less privileged areas.

He said the people of Balochistan had the first right on the resources of province and after that the state of Pakistan could exercise the right.

Earlier, MNAs Mohammad Aslam Bhootani, Muhammad Hashim Notezai and Akhtar Mengal sought attention of the House towards the prime minster’s statement about selling the assets of Reko Diq to pay debt of the country.

Parliamentary Secretary Khayal Zaman told the National Assembly that the assets of Reko Diq belonged to Balochistan as per 18th constitutional amendment.

He said the government had sought stay order on the execution of a decision of international arbitration court in favor of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) which filed claims worth $6 billion for the settlement of investment dispute.

He said the government’s role in the whole episode was filing of an appeal in the same court of law where it lost the case, however, after the final settlement only the government of Balochistan would exercise their right and decide the fate of the project.

The priority of the government was to complete the ongoing projects in Balochistan and announce new projects for the province, said the parliamentary secretary adding the previous governments neglected the province.