QUETTA: Jam Kamal Khan took oath as the 17th Chief Minister of Balochistan at the Governor House.
Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai administered the oath of the CM Office to Kamal. Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Deputy Speaker Babar Musakhel and elected members of the Balochistan Assembly along with a large number of government officers and tribal notables were present during the oath-taking ceremony.
Speaking to media following the oath-taking ceremony, Chief Minister Kamal said, “The government and opposition will have to make joint efforts to fight backwardness in Balochistan. Alliance with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will strengthen ties of the provincial government with the Centre.”
The newly-sworn in chief minister noted that Gwadar city was the “central point” of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project but faced potable water shortage.
“As CPEC is a project of Balochistan, it becomes imperative to address the issues of the people,” said Kamal, adding that his government would develop such a governance structure in the province where people would be provided their due rights.
Kamal claimed that for 15 years, the previous provincial governments had not promoted cordial relations with the federal governments, saying education, health and maintaining law and order were indispensable for Balochistan.
The CM also claimed that the previous governments had done nothing to maintain the law and order, adding that his team would fight the battle of achieving Balochistan’s rights and would not deter in their mission “come what may”.
He said, “Stamping out corruption will be impossible without accountability and merit. Good governance will also enable us to build world’s best projects.”
He said it was unfortunate that junior officers were being given precedence over seniors which undermined and hampered the wheel of change.
“Not only our party, but all political parties, bureaucracy and the masses will have to play their role in improving the governance structure in Balochistan,” said Kamal. “If the government and opposition fulfil their responsibilities, the system will automatically be set on the right track.”
The CM said, “We do not claim to resolve all the issues in five years as development is a difficult task, but if we can only set the system on the developmental track, it will be a great achievement.”
He said his team’s first job was improvement in governance, introduction of a transparent system and accountability as according to him “these elements are the road to development”.
He said, “Pakistan is a federation and the relationship of the federal and the provincial governments is of high significance in building this structure. A single party’s rule at federal or provincial level is not enough. It rather requires both the parties to play their role in bringing meaningful changes in the lives of the people; therefore, we have decided to work jointly towards the common goal – development of Balochistan.”
