QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Thursday called for merit, good governance, youth empowerment and open dialogue to close the gap between the state and its younger generation.
Speaking at a matching grants distribution ceremony organized by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) with European Union support, Bugti acknowledged public grievances but insisted that “the state has not committed any sin.”
“People may have complaints against governments, but the state itself is not at fault,” he said.
Bugti described the development challenge of Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest province by area, covering 43% of the country’s landmass — as daunting under a modest annual development budget of 200 billion rupees ($720 million). He said progress required sustained backing from the federal government and international partners.
The chief minister announced Balochistan’s first Climate and Women Economic Empowerment Endowment Fund to promote financial independence for women and environmentally sustainable projects. He said decades of corruption and mismanagement had alienated youth, but the government aimed to rebuild trust.
Bugti said the provincial administration had launched a new youth policy focused on jobs and entrepreneurship and allocated 16 billion rupees in interest-free loans through the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP). He added that revenues from international investments in mines such as Reko Diq and Saindak would allow the government to increase resources for youth development.
He also pledged to upgrade infrastructure in divisional headquarters and warned against inflated land valuations during road expansion projects, calling such practices exploitative.
At the event, PPAF Chief Executive Nadir Gul Barech said the Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) project had empowered small entrepreneurs, generated jobs and added value to local products. “Every grant and loan facilitated under GRASP translates into new opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs,” he said. “These enterprises are creating jobs, adding value to local produce and proving that small businesses can transform entire communities.”
Robert Skidmore, Chief of Sector and Enterprise Competence at the ITC, praised GRASP for connecting Balochistan’s SMEs and farmers to national and global markets, saying it had boosted incomes and created thousands of jobs.
Bugti visited stalls set up by young entrepreneurs and distributed grants to selected business owners, underscoring his government’s focus on grassroots economic empowerment.
The GRASP project is a six-year, $55 million European Union–funded initiative implemented by the ITC with partners including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, SMEDA and the PPAF. It aims to reduce poverty by strengthening SMEs in the horticulture and livestock value chains across 22 districts of Balochistan and Sindh.
Thursday’s event, titled Strengthening SMEs through Inclusive Access to Finance, featured the distribution of matching grants worth 172.5 million rupees and an exhibition showcasing agribusinesses.
