Due to personal engagement of Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, the presentation of Balochistan budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 which was due to be presented today (Monday) has been deferred till tomorrow (Tuesday). A notification regarding rescheduling of the budget session has been forwarded to the acting governor. The presentation of the provincial budget has been deferred till June 21 due to Chief Minister Bizenjo’s engagement in the council session of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).  The BAP held its intra-party elections on Sunday and elected Bizenjo as its new president. But the fissures appear in the party as the exercise was rejected by former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, who termed the BAP general council meeting “illegal”, saying that the general council meeting could only be convened by the party president.

“I am the president of the party and I was not consulted for convening the general council meeting,” Mr Alyani said, adding that BAP’s general council meeting will now be held on Aug 9 in Quetta. Balochistan will present its budget for the next fiscal with a total outlay of Rs580 billion. The budget proposed to earmark Rs195 billion for development projects while Rs385 billion will be set aside for non-development projects. The budget document has also suggested a 15% raise in the salaries of provincial government employees.

Credit:
Independent News Pakistan-INP