QUETTA, June 23 (PPI) Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) chief, MPA Mir Asadullah Baloch said on Sunday said if the second phase of CPEC started from Gwadar instead of Lahore, it would be acceptable to the people of Balochistan; otherwise not.

The first phase of CPEC could neither benefit the people of Balochistan nor the province as all the projects under the first phase were executed in Punjab, he claimed while addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club.

The MPA said that budget-2024-2025 was not the budget of the Balochistan people as it had benefited only elite and ruling classes of the province. Terming “Operation Azm-i-Istehkam” as an operation against Baloch and Pushtuns, he said that no terrorist was present in Balochistan.

He said Rs85 billion had been allocated for maintaining the law and order situation in Balochistan, but despite spending huge amount of money, the situation in the province was deteriorating. He said that by utilising Rs85 billion, several universities, water supply schemes and other projects in the province could have been launched for the good of the people of Balochistan.

He said Rs7 billion had been reflected in the PSDP for the fiscal year-2023-2024 for executing development projects in district Panjgur, but all development schemes of Panjgur had been deleted in the budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 at the behest of National Party and Chief Minister Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti.

He said that Mr Bugti had reflected Rs16 billion in the budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 for his constituency Dera Bugti, adding that the Provincial Minister for Finance had allocated Rs7 billion for his constituency Kharan in the current PSDP.