Balochistan Assembly Approves Tamp-Mand District, Reviews Minerals Act

Qaseem Shah:

Quetta – The Balochistan Assembly on Monday approved a joint resolution to establish a new district comprising Tamp and Mand, while also passing another resolution to review the Mines and Minerals Act.

During the session, National Party leader Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch emphasized that provinces had rights over natural resources even before the 18th Amendment. He stressed that new districts must be formed under a well-structured planning process, noting that Balochistan’s future depends on its coast and mineral resources.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman warned against creating new districts on political grounds and demanded that Gwadar be upgraded to a Metropolitan Corporation after Quetta.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party leader Asghar Tareen criticized the trend of governments prioritizing their own constituencies, calling for the creation of three more districts in the Baloch belt and Quetta region.

Addressing the assembly, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that the government had already suspended the Mines and Minerals Act through an executive order. He assured lawmakers that the provincial government’s doors remain open for all constructive proposals.