Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Tallal Badar on Tuesday rejected allegations of intelligence failure and defended the government\u2019s handling of the law and order situation in Balochistan, while winding up a debate in the National Assembly on a motion moved by him to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country, particularly in Balochistan.
\nConcluding the debate, Tallal Badar said that certain elements were attempting to promote a narrative of deprivation in Balochistan to justify acts of terrorism and to undermine development initiatives, including international investment, mineral projects, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and the strategic importance of Gwadar.
\nHe said that claims of deprivation were contrary to facts, noting that under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Balochistan received a per-capita share around 40 percent higher than Punjab, while more than 90 percent of provincial funds were contributed by the federation.
\nHe added that Balochistan also received the largest share of federal development funding under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
\nHighlighting development indicators, the minister said that at the time of independence there were only 114 schools in Balochistan, which had now increased to over 15,000.<\/p>\n
He said there were now 12 universities, five medical colleges, 145 colleges, and 13 cadet colleges in the province.
\nHe further noted the establishment of 13 major hospitals, 18 teaching hospitals, 33 district headquarters hospitals, 757 basic health units, 541 dispensaries, cardiac, TB and dialysis centres, airports in smaller cities, 321 technical and vocational institutions, and more than 25,000 kilometres of roads.
\nTallal Badar said that terrorists deliberately targeted schools, hospitals, banks, highways, railways, and markets\u2014facilities used by ordinary citizens\u2014exposing the falsehood of their claims of fighting for public rights.
\nHe said that if development, infrastructure, and governance improved, such elements would lose the space to advance their narrative.
\nRejecting opposition claims of intelligence failure, the minister said it was due to intelligence-based operations that greater losses were averted.
\nHe informed the House that in the 48 hours prior to recent incidents, intelligence-led operations in Harnai and Panjgur resulted in the killing of more than three dozen terrorists, arrests of others, and recovery of weapons and ammunition.
\nHe said that so far 177 terrorists had been killed in ongoing operations.
\nHe said that while even a single martyrdom was unacceptable, casualties included 17 law enforcement personnel\u201410 police officials, six FC personnel, and one Levies official\u2014and 33 civilian labourers from Gwadar and Makran.
\nResponding to criticism regarding leadership engagement, Tallal Badar said the Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff visited Balochistan immediately after the Jaffer Express incident and held consultations with parliamentary parties.
\nHe said an in-camera briefing was also held in the House with opposition participation, but regretted that the opposition later boycotted another scheduled in-camera session.
\nHe said security operations were conducted with caution, particularly in crowded areas such as markets, to prevent civilian harm, as terrorists used civilians as human shields.
\nHe also dismissed criticism over the continuation of routine activities such as sports and business, saying terrorists aimed to disrupt normal life and project a sense of paralysis.
\n\u201cThere will be no compromise on Pakistan\u2019s security, survival, and progress,\u201d Tallal Badar said, adding that political point-scoring should have no place at a time when the nation was mourning its losses.
\n\u201cThis is a national issue, and all political forces must play their role to defeat terrorism and restore lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Tallal Badar on Tuesday rejected allegations of intelligence failure and defended the government\u2019s handling of the law and order situation in Balochistan, while winding up a debate in the National Assembly on a motion moved by him to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-529288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n