CM Bugti: Gap between youth and state to be closed through education, skills, jobs

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has said that the gap between the youth and the state will be closed through education, skills, employment, merit and meaningful dialogue. He said the government is providing young people with opportunities, resources and guidance to become part of the legal economy instead of illegal activities.

He said the government’s aim is not merely to give certificates after training but to help young people stand on their own feet. The Balochistan government will provide those who learn skills with a supportive environment, interest-free loans, business support and continuous guidance so that they can start a respectable business in their own areas or any part of the country.

The Chief Minister said this on Thursday while addressing a ceremony at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Quetta to distribute certificates among trained graduates of technical and vocational education from the districts of Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur and Kharan. The ceremony was held under the Resilience, Integration and Socio-Economic Empowerment Programme, funded by the Balochistan government, and was organised by the Industries and Commerce Department and the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP). Provincial ministers, advisers, parliamentary secretaries, members of the provincial assembly, Balochistan Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, BRSP Chief Executive Officer Tahir Rasheed and other officials were present.

“The real challenge is to reconnect the youth with the state”

The Chief Minister said the ceremony was an occasion to encourage and recognise the young women who left their homes to acquire skills and have begun a new journey. He said that when the present government took charge, the big challenge was to reduce the distance between the government and the youth. The government, the cabinet and members of the assembly felt that a gap had opened between the younger generation and the state. He said he did not regard violence as the main challenge; the real challenge was to reconnect the youth with the state of Pakistan.

Mir Sarfraz Bugti said the government brought in BRSP so that it could act as a bridge between the state, the government and the youth, and to ensure the programme was implemented transparently. Had the government launched such projects directly, official procedures could have caused delays and administrative problems. He said BRSP will continue to guide those who complete training, they will be prepared for business with the expertise of the private sector, and the government will keep supporting them for several years. He said today was not the end of this journey but its beginning.

Zamyad vehicles and smuggling are not the future of the youth

Speaking about the employment programme for border districts, the Chief Minister said Zamyad vehicles and smuggling could not be the future of young people, and it was the government’s responsibility to make them part of the legal economy. He said the programme began in the border districts because it had been claimed that young people turned to smuggling due to a lack of jobs there. The government has given a practical answer to this, and the programme will now be extended across the province. A comprehensive package of training, a supportive environment, financial support and interest-free loans has been introduced for this purpose.

He said attempts to lead the girls of Balochistan towards violence, to make them wear suicide jackets and to use them for anti-state activities fit neither social traditions, nor does Islam or human values allow it. Anti-state propaganda can be countered by providing education, skills, jobs and opportunities.

Economic participation of women

The Chief Minister said the women of Balochistan are his special priority and that society will make real progress only when women move forward in the economic and social fields. He cited Bangladesh, where women’s economic participation has driven the economy forward. He said inviting the women who completed training to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat reflected the same resolve. Coming from a tribal society, he understands the difficulties girls from the border districts face in leaving home to get training, and their progress is a matter of pride. He said that for the first time in the history of Balochistan, a woman commissioner is heading a division.

Merit, accountability and public facilities

The Chief Minister said more than 15,000 teachers have been recruited in Balochistan and merit has been made the basic principle. He said that if merit had been violated in any recruitment, it should be pointed out, and the government was ready for accountability. The campaign against corruption is also continuing vigorously. He said the digital system in the health sector is gaining international recognition. The provincial health minister was invited as chief guest to an international conference in Sri Lanka and has now been invited to Norway as well.

He said the Jinnah People’s Train offers a modern travel facility at a fare of Rs50, but incidents of stone-pelting at the train, damage to seats and theft of parts are regrettable. He said the train is for the public, not for the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary or cabinet members, so citizens should protect public property. The Pink and Green bus services are also being extended to other areas, and the Green bus service in Turbat, which began with four buses, will be expanded further because of encouraging ridership. Opportunities for PhD programmes and scholarships at renowned universities, including Harvard and Oxford, are also being created for young people.

Rs3 billion for youth

Mir Sarfraz Bugti said Rs3 billion has been allocated for youth this year. If BRSP, Akhuwat Pakistan and the Industries and Commerce Department use the amount effectively, the government will give another Rs3 billion, which could later be raised to Rs9 billion and then Rs11 billion. He said the doors of the state and the government are also open to young people on the path of violence. If they give up violence and wish to join the mainstream, the government is ready to offer them education, jobs and opportunities for progress, while the other path is that of violence, which ends in destruction.

The Chief Minister praised the efforts of BRSP but made clear that this is a Balochistan government programme owned by the government, and that the role of partner organisations is to deliver it to deserving people in a transparent and effective manner. He praised Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, the Secretary Industries and Commerce, and officials of BRSP and the Industries and Commerce Department. He urged the Chief Secretary to come up with ideas for more programmes for young people. At the end of the ceremony, the Chief Minister distributed certificates among the women and female students who completed training and expressed good wishes for their future.

Photo: courtesy DGPR Balochistan