Daily Times

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday said Balochistan’s peace and prosperity is the bedrock of Pakistan’s progress.

“It is time to reap dividends of hard-earned peace and expedite socio-economic development adopting people centric approach for attaining enduring stability,” Gen Bajwa said while interacting with the participants of 7th National Workshop Balochistan at General Headquarters (GHQ). He said the security forces would remain steadfast and determined to defeat enemies of peace and prosperity of Balochistan and Pakistan.

Highlighting internal and external challenges, the COAS said full spectrum threat demands comprehensive national response. “Balochistan is in sharp focus of national leadership and army is fully engaged in enabling national and provincial response in synergy with other institutions of state,” he further said. “We are a resilient nation that has endured the tests of time on its path to achieving peace and stability,” he added.

The 7th National Workshop Balochistan was attended by a large number of parliamentarians, bureaucrats, members of civil society, youth, academia and media representatives. The workshop was aimed at enabling future leadership of Balochistan in understanding vital national, provincial issues and mounting cohesive response, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release.

The army chief’s statement comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he was mulling to hold talks with angry Baloch so that hostile elements, including India, could not use them to spread chaos. He had said that Pakistan’s development was linked with Balochistan and Gwadar would be developed at all costs. He had also directed the authorities to ensure progress in Gwadar on a monthly basis, saying there shouldn’t be any impediments in this regard.