Balochistan to Buy Rs1.7 bn Jet Plane

The Baloch Hal

It appears that Arab princes are ruling Balochistan province instead of the people’s representatives as is proved by no other person than chief minister of the province, Nawab Aslam Raisani, who ordered the purchase of a modern and state-of-the-art jet plane for the whopping sum of Rs1.7 billion putting a huge burden on the already teetering economy of the province. According to reports, a team comprising two pilots as technical experts and two senior officials from Balochistan has recently returned home after a tour to America in this regard. It is learnt that the agreement for the purchase of the jet plane has been approved. The modern plane is being purchased from the Canadian company, Bombardier. A senior official of Balochistan revealed the details of this secret deal while talking to ‘The News’ the other day. He said that in the beginning the purchase of the jet plane was worked out at Rs1.4 billion but its cost had swelled to Rs1.7 billion. According to information, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been sent a letter from the Balochistan government in which the provincial government requested the tax collection body to waive duty on the purchase of the jet plane. According to sources, the request from Balochistan regarding the duty waiver was not being accorded. The high cost jet plane is being purchased at a time when Balochistan is in the grip of lawlessness and target killing. This move endorses the remarks of the Chief Justice of Pakistan that nothing good is going on in the province. The province despite having the budget of Rs182 billion, has no MRI or CT scan machines except in Bolan Medical College. The provincial government, instead of paying heed to the people’s problems, is purchasing the luxurious plane. It is more pity to learn that the province already has two jet planes — one for the governor and the other for the chief minister — and now the agreement to purchase the third one has been approved. (