Debate on Balochistan’s next FY’s budget starts: Leader of Opposition emphasizes on increasing province’s own revenue in budget
Debate on Balochistan’s next FY’s budget starts: Leader of Opposition emphasizes on increasing province’s own revenue in budget
Mir Younas Zehri urges federal govt. to enhance financial allocation for Balochistan; Maulana Hidayatur Rehman emphasizes emphasized non-development expenditures must be reduced; Khair Jan Baloch says issues cannot be resolved with limited funds; Parliamentary secretary Abdul Samad Gorgej terms Balochistan’s budget an excellent one
QUETTA: The general debate started on the Balochistan’s budget for next financial year 2025-26 in the budget session of assembly on Friday.
The Speaker, Abdul Khaliq Khan Achakzai presided over the session.
Starting debate on the budget, leader of the Opposition, Mir Younis Aziz Zehri emphasized the need to increase the province’s own revenue.
He also urged the federal government to enhance the financial allocation for Balochistan.
He stated that the amount allocated for agriculture is insufficient and should be increase. In addition to this, he pointed out that, the largest share of the budget is being allocated to education, but the real question is whether we are actually getting good results or not.
MPA Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch remarked that the budget comprises only three elements: the development budget, the non-development budget, and 6,000 jobs.
He questioned whether the previous year’s budget, which was reportedly fully spent, had any visible impact on the ground.
He added that, in addition to ignorance and poverty, corruption in the form of commission-taking is also prevalent in Balochistan. The province’s development budget is said to cover around 6,000 schemes, but he emphasized that non-development expenditures must be reduced.
Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman further stated that instead of living in royal luxury like Mughal emperors, the government must adopt simplicity.
He pointed out that while over 3 million youth in the province are unemployed, only 6,000 jobs have been announced.
He also criticized the budget for completely excluding CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), stating that Balochistan has no share in Phase II of the project. Moreover, he claimed that the Karachi-Chaman highway is being constructed using funds generated from petroleum, and expressed concern that if fuel prices rise, the burden might be unfairly passed on to the public.
On the provincial budget, the Parliamentary Secretary Abdul Samad Gorgej said that Balochistan’s budget is an excellent one, and that funds have been allocated for the Information Technology (IT) sector in this budget.
Speaking on the budget, National Party’s MPA Khair Jan Baloch stated that the budget is a document meant to be presented before the public, in which solutions to their problems are outlined. He remarked that Balochistan’s issues cannot be resolved with limited funds and emphasized the need for practical steps to improve the situation in the province.
Khair Jan Baloch noted that the youth of Balochistan aspire for development. He questioned whether the current budget includes any plans for establishing industrial zones.
He stressed that if Balochistan is to be aligned with the modern world, it must embrace contemporary needs and provide skill-based education to its youth.
Meanwhile, the Speaker summoned the CEO of QESCO on the issue of extensive power load shedding in his chamber.
