Punjab to fund Balochistan projects

LAHORE - On the special directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Punjab government will provide cooperation for construction of two parks and designing and renovation of an important road for the people of Balochistan.

During the visit of Balochistan Chief Minister, Dr Abdul Maalik to Lahore, it was decided that Punjab government will assist Balochistan government in designing and renovation of two parks and airport road in Quetta. The Punjab chief minister Punjab has ordered immediate implementation of the decision regarding designing and renovation of airport road and construction of two parks in Quetta. Punjab government will provide all funds in this regard and it would be a gift for the people of Quetta.

Meanwhile, former federal minister Ejazul Haq met Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here on Friday. Political situation of the country and national issues were discussed in the meeting, according to an official handout, Meanwhile, Assembly members of various districts called on the Punjab chief minister and informed him about the pace of ongoing development projects in their respective areas.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that service to the people was the pivot of politics of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and it is serving the people of Punjab with honesty and commitment for the last five and a half years. He said that mega projects worth billions of rupees had been executed across the province. He said Punjab was rich in mineral resources which could be utilised for achieving the goal of self-sufficiency.  He said that a solid strategy has been adopted for fully benefiting from mineral wealth in the province. He said that a number of welfare programmes were continuing successfully for bringing the deprived segments of the society into national mainstream.  Those who met the Chief Minister included Syed Muhammad Asghar Shah, Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan, Muhammad Afzal Khokhar and Rais Mehbob Ahmad.

Balochistan Militancy Devastates Education System

The provincial government, responding to public demands for stepped-up security, vows to improve the situation.

QUETTA – Nazeer Ahmed Bangulzai was a typical student in the Awaran area of Balochistan Province, but militant threats have reached the point that they are blocking him from an education.

"My father is not letting me to go to school," the 10th-class student said. "He told me that armed men would kill me if they found me going to school." This situation has repeated itself throughout the province, blocking thousands of young students from getting an education. And that's casting a shadow on the future for coming generations.

"Our future is moving ahead in darkness; someone should come forward to assist us in this calamitous situation so that we can continue our education without any fear," Nazeer said. As the situation reaches the crisis point, Balochistan residents are calling for the provincial government to step up efforts to keep the school system functioning.

"The role of government is, primarily, in protecting educational institutions," Mohammad Ali, a schoolteacher in Noshki, told Central Asia Online. "If they [the schools] are destroyed by the militants, the government must ensure that these schools are rebuilt and the process of education continues without any further disruption."

Dropout rates pose a major challenge

Militant attacks on schools and on educators have forced roughly 70,000 children to leave school this year, according to officials. The terrorism has included barrages of gunfire at school buses. Roughly 1.3m children throughout the province aren't going to school, Balochistan Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik said.

"A high dropout rate and poor access of children to school have emerged as the biggest challenges in the province," he said. Observers accuse the militancy of being the chief culprit behind Balochistan's nation-leading illiteracy rate, A.N. Sabir, president of the Government Teachers Association Quetta, told Central Asia Online.

"The militants' biased attitude is shutting the doors of education ... and they want to keep the masses in the darkness of ignorance," Shantul Gurginari, a senior educator and former professor of history in Balochistan, said. "It is a great conspiracy against Balochistan that anti-peace elements want to smash the entire system of education in the province," Ali said. "These militant groups are trying to keep the Baloch nation backward and illiterate ... making their youth easily susceptible to militancy."

Putting children back in school

The harsh situation contradicts what the residents want, analysts say. "People want their children to be literate … but in reality there is no one to help them out," Khuzdar social worker Behram Rind told Central Asia Online. "In conflict areas, seeking an education might cost you your life."

The provincial government says it recognises the need to ensure safe access to schools and a safe learning environment. "We are taking all possible measures to maintain law and order and to restore the educational system in the militancy-hit areas," Malik said.

The government is reviewing education-related policies and has allocated Rs. 61.3 billion (US $62m) to fix the problems, he said. Reforms will include providing security for teachers, students and other stake-holders, Sabir said.

"It is the need of the hour to eradicate the menace of extremism and terrorism from education in Balochistan," he added.

FC important partner in socio-economic development of Balochistan

Frontier Corps Balochistan has made its presence felt in a positive way in the largest province of Pakistan by running schools and colleges, providing medical facilities to patients and coming to aid of earthquake affectees in Awaran. The FC is playing an important role in the promotion of education in Balochistan with an aim to win hearts and minds of the people.

According to Frontier Corps Balochistan sources, it has been running six colleges and 33 schools in the province, in which over 13,000 students were presently getting education, 1,409 of them studying freely. The number of students in FC run schools will be raised upto 15000 in near future.

Some 400 local teachers have also been provided jobs in FC schools with free boarding, lodging, medical and transportation facilities. While 14 students are sponsored by the force to study in renowned educational institutions. The FC has provided hostel facility for over 300 students at five different locations including Loralai, Muslim Bagh, Zhob, Khuzdar and Dera Bugti.

During the earthquake relief operations in Awaran last year, the FC was the first institution, which responded to the natural calamity. FC took up the challenge as an opportunity to earn good will of masses. A total of 1739 troops participated in earthquake relief activities. It provided 5892 ration bags, distributed 14 relief goods trucks, 600 cartons of medicines and 425 shelters. FC provided specialist medical facilities to the people in far-flung areas of the province. According to available data, from 2011 to 2013, the FC provided medical facilities to 89,284 patients in 212 free camps across Balochistan.

In the year 2011, FC held 72 free camps providing treatment to 28753 patients, in the year 2012, 89 camps were set up and 30045 patients were treated. In 2013, 51 camps were established where 30486 patients got treatment. In close coordination with Home and Tribal Affairs Department of Government of Balochistan, FC has imparted training to 1533 personnel of Police Prisons Staff as well as Levies and Balochistan Constabulary in 11 batches. FC provides training to law enforcement agencies on a regular basis. During the year 2012 and 2013, FC trained 1380 Levies personnel in seven batches. While in 2013 it trained 103 personnel of Police Prison Staff in three batches and in the same year, it trained 50 personnel of Balochistan Constabulary in a single batch.

FC’s anti narco operations have continued alongside other duties with considerable success. From the year, 2011 to 2013, FC recovered narcotics worth Rs.5268 million and arrested 50 criminals selling the illegal substances. The force recovered 84600 kilograms of heroin, morphine, hashish, opium and chemicals.

The force also recovered 176,335 kgs of ammunition and 48,518 tons of explosive material from criminals. In its efforts to check illegal human trafficking, the FC Balochistan arrested 16,033 persons, including 14,972 Afghanis, 862 Pakistanis, 154 Bengalis and 34 Iranians.

ایف سی بلوچستان کا امدادی کیمپ

Challenges and Triumphs for Building Balochistan

Sardars, nawabs continue To dominate #Balochistan. They had done nothing but brought Balochistan to this stage

Afghan Spy Agency Behind Terrorism in Balochistan

The provincial and federal intelligence agencies in Balochistan, along with law enforcement agencies, recently established an Intelligence Fusion Cell in the restive province.

This cell had been receiving intelligence inputs since long that a specific group of militants was smuggling weapons in large numbers into Balochistan from some areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. These weapons were going to be used for a series of terrorist activities across the province. Last week, on leads from intelligence agencies, the Frontier Corps in Balochistan along with the Balochistan Police conducted a successful operation and seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition; this was being transported on a truck en route to Balochistan. Several AK-47s, pistols, magazines, torches, telescopes and bullets were among the items recovered.

Prior to this, the intelligence agencies tipped off Frontier Corps and Baloch Police forces who then recovered large numbers of items used for bomb blasts from Pir Alizai forest area of Balochistan. The items included explosive material, remote-controlled detonators, prima cards and an assortment of switches, which were being imported to plan a host of terrorist activities across the province.

According to reliable information with security agencies, the militants in Balochistan have the support and help of Afghanistan's notorious spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS). Furthermore, it was revealed that the NDS is not alone in all these activities, rather it has the assistance of various other foreign powers behind-the-scenes.

Later, Balochistan's Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti was given a briefing and exhibit of the seized weapons and ammunitions by Frontier Corps personnel.

Balochistan Govt to Provide Science and IT Teachers to Schools

QUETTA: Balochistan Government has decided to recruit science and information technology teachers for all high schools in the province.

Balochistan Secretary Education Ghulam Ali Baloch told Dawn.com that the provincial government has decided in principle to impart quality education to students.

He said a total of 1600 science and IT teachers would be appointed across the province.

"Through National Testing Service (NTS), teachers would be recruited," Baloch said.

Balochistan is legging behind other provinces, in terms of key social indicators, when compared to other parts of the country.

According to Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Malik Baloch, currently 2.3 million children were out of school in the province, plagued by an insurgency and growing sectarianism.

The secretary education informed that besides these posts, 6500 posts for teachers were lying unoccupied in the province. He said all out efforts were being made to bring back the children to school.

For the first time in the history of the province, the coalition government has allocated almost 24 per cent of the budget for the education sector.

However, Ghulam Baloch said that most of the amount was being spent on salaries of teachers and other staff rather than development of the education sector.

The education department has also decided to impart modern training to 3000 teachers in order to improve standards of education.

"Capacity building of teachers is another issue," the secretary education said.

In response to a question, Ghulam Ali Baloch said that enrollment of students during the start of the academic year in Balochistan was not encouraging, as a limited number of students showed up at the government-run schools.

Baloch said that in southern Balochistan the condition of education institutions was miserable.

"Even we have no access to many institutions in the south," he added.

According to the provincial education department, there were more than 3000 ghost schools out of 12,600 in different parts of Balochistan.

Similarly, there were more than 5000 ghost teachers across the province.

A huge setback to Indian designs: Tonnes of explosives, 100s of Kalashnikoves & small arms seized near Chaman border

A huge setback to Indian designs: Tonnes of explosives, 100s of Kalashnikoves & small arms seized near Chaman border

A huge setback to Indian designs: Tonnes of explosives near Chaman border

India leading separatist movement in Balochistan: Zehri

QUETTA: Senior minister and president PML-N Balochistan Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri has said that separatist movement in the province was led by India to damage Pakistan from every aspect. Talking to media Monday, Zehri said the neigbouring countries of Pakistan and the US wanted to destabilise the country. He further said few countries did not want to see Gwadar port operational and he doubted Pakistan achieving this goal.

Arms, Explosives and Detonators etc, Recovered by FC from Gulistan, Balochistan

FC Balochistan Seizes Arms which were to be used by Indian funded BLA Terrorists for mass terror attack

In Pictures: Passing out Parade 55th batch of FC Balochistan

Passing out parade of 55th batch of Frontier Corps Balochistan was conducted on 6th March 2014 at Frontier Corps training centre at Loralai and Governor Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai was the chief guest.

Uch-II power project launched in Balochistan

QUETTA: Significant development has made to end energy crisis in the country, a power project Uch power project-II of capacity to generate 404 megawatts electricity inaugurated in Balochistan province on Monday.

Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif launched the project during his visit to Balochistan in Dera Murad Jamali of the province.vNawaz Sharif, while addressing to the inauguration ceremony, said that the federal government will be able to counter power shortage in next three years.

A French company GDF-SUEZ has constructed the plant for increasing the electricity generation capacity of Uch power plant up to 990 megawatts.

He said that new power lines will be installed in Nasirabad and Sibi division areas during the ongoing development projects in Balochistan. The prime minister urged the unity of all institutions in order to take prosperity in the country.

'Despite all odds, I am going to school every day'

Wearing a traditional purple scarf with a red bandage tied on her forehead, Parveen Manzoor is desperate for every child in her dusty village to enroll in school. Parveen, herself, is fortunate enough to be studying at a girls’ school in Sara Ghurgai, a town located north of Quetta.

“Despite all odds, I am going to school every day,” Parveen says.

Parveen’s determination is commendable as Balochistan struggles to educate its children. According to officials in the province’s education department, 2.3 million boys and girls in Quetta and 32 other districts across Balochistan remain deprived of this fundamental right.

Speaking to Dawn.com on the issue, advisor to the chief minister on education Sardar Raza Muhammad Bareech says, “Children from 10,000 settlements are currently deprived of schooling.”

Some organisations are taking initiative on the issue realising the importance of education to counter extremist tendencies and overcome growing radicalisation. One such initiative is by the Pashtoonkhwa Students Organisation which aims to combat terrorism in Pakhtun-dominated areas by improving education levels.

In line with their objective the organisation launched a month-long campaign encouraging families to enroll their children in school. Parveen also took active part in their rallies.

“Even on the street where my house is, a number of children are not going to school,” Parveen says hoping her efforts will change their mind.

There are some encouraging developments. Chief for the organisation’s Balochistan chapter Kabir Afghan says, “thousands of girls and boys have enrolled into schools (as a result of the campaign).”

Like Parveen, young Saima also took part in the rally. “We want education,” she firmly stated, joining her friends in chanting slogans at the rally in Sara Ghurgai, she shouted:

“We want a teacher in every class”, “every child in school” and “a school in every village.”

To lend their support and show solidarity with the initiative, a large number of local tribesmen also participated in the rally actively convincing parents to send their children to school.

Claims and counter-claims

Financial, as well as social factors appear to be the main obstacles in the remote-areas of the province. According to the 1998 census, there were a total of 22,000 settlements across Balochistan.

In comparison, the Balochistan Education Department put the number of government-run primary, middle and high schools at 12,600. “Most schools in the province are ghost schools,” Afghan says.

Over 1,000 schools either have no boundary wall and in a number of instances no ceiling as well. The lack of a proper infrastructure exposes children to rainfall, as well as harsh weather during winter says Secretary for Education Ghulam Ali Baloch. In addition, most of schools have no drinking water and no toilets.

“We are unable to provide all facilities to schools due to insufficient resources,” Bareech explains. During the last three months, despite their limitations he says, the department was able to make 300 schools functional.

This was possible as for the first time in the history of the province the government led by Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has allocated 24 per cent of the provincial budget for education. “We are determined to educate our new generation,” Dr Malik Baloch told Dawn.com.

Baloch’s determination is noteworthy but there are several key factors impeding his success which need to be tackled simultaneously. The law and order situation in the province is of prime concern as is the need for better governance.

The government claims to have increased student enrolment during the academic year 2014 but a large number of children are still out of school.

“Forget about the quality (of education), our children are deprived of even primary education,” Afghan says, adding that one of the main objectives of the Pashtoonkhwa Students Organisation was to enable the students to read and write.

Other stumbling blocks

Quality education in Balochistan is merely confined to a handful of educational institutions which are expensive and located in the provincial capital of Quetta.

“I cannot afford high fees of private schools,” says Ghulam Haider, a government servant whose kids study in a government-run school in Quetta.

Despite these efforts to improve quality and access to education, the far-flung areas of Balochistan such as Dera Bugti, Awaran and Musa Khel remain a grave challenge for the government, where buildings for government schools are used for anything but imparting education.

A strong commitment is essential through successive governments in order for the resource-rich province to improve education levels.

Over 700 development schemes underway in Balochistan

More than seven hundred development schemes will be completed in Balochistan province during the next three years.

According to spokesman of Planning and Development department that the proposed schemes are related to education, health, drinking water, road and irrigation sectors for which over seven billion rupees have been released.

He said that 600 primary and middle schools would be constructed and upgraded in addition to establishing three medical colleges in Loralai, Khuzdar and Turbat.

The spokesman added that one hundred and thirty nine miscellaneous schemes would also be completed during this period.

Rs7mn distributed among Balochistan Artists: CM Balochistan

QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch Tuesday said that Rs 7 million has been distributed among the Artists of Balochistan.

He added that Minister for Sports and Culture has been asked to workout on provision of endowment funds to the disable and poor Artists to ensure their permanent financial support. He expressed these remarks while talking to media persons after the ceremony of "Artist Day" held in connection with the Balochistan Sport Festival here at local hotel. The ceremony was also attended by the Minister for Sports and Culture Mir Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, and Balochistan cabinet members.

"Incumbent government was committed to remove the sense of deprivation and frustration by taking concrete steps and making arrangements for healthy activities," the CM stressed.

He said that the Artists facing financial hardships were being approached to compensate them as they are the assets of the province.

To promote Sports in the province, provincial government would construct Sports Complex at each district. Earlier, Renowned Artists including Jangi Khan, Taj Mohammad Tajal, Shakeel Ahmed, Mohammad Shafee Ishaq, Nadir Naseer and Farooz performed on the occassion.

MILITANTS ENJOY SUPPORT OF AFGHAN, INDIAN INTELLIGENCE, SAYS SARFRAZ BUGTI

QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister has revealed that militants in his province enjoy support of Afghan and Indian Intelligence.

Addressing a press conference with FC officials on Monday, Sarfraz Bugti said FC foiled major terror bid in the province and recovered huge cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives, while 2 culprits were also arrested.

He said militants had set up their camps in Afghanistan and enjoyed full support of Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies, aimed at destabilizing Pakistan.

Earlier, FC officials showed arms and ammo, recovered in from a truck in Gulistan, Qila Abdullah area.

The cache includes 100 Kalashnikovs, 136 9mm pistols, 9 Kalakov, Three G-3, and binoculars.

Forces also raided a place in Pir Alezai, between Qila Abdullah and Pishin, and recovered 70 sacks full of explosives, 45 bombs, 200 detonators, remote controls and other devices.