"I have a dream for you, and trust me, that I will make all efforts to realise this dream, of bringing prosperity and development to your province to take it at par with other provinces of Pakistan", he said amid applause while speaking at the inauguration of Gwadar gas supply pilot project. The project has been completed by Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd (SSGC) at a cost of Rs 100 million.
People greeted the President upon his arrival and chanted slogans "Long live Pakistan", "Long live Pervez Musharraf" and "Qadam barhao Pervez Musharraf hum tumharay saath hain".
Balochistan Governor Owais Ghani, Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf, Federal ministers and ministers of State including Mir Naseer Mengal, Zobaida Jalal, Babar Khan Ghauri, Ghaus Bux Mehar, nazims and notables and large number of locals were also present on the occasion.
The President said he would do away with any sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan, and would bring prosperity and development in the province.
"I am confident I will achieve this goal," he added.
He said the focus "is now on Balochistan, as this province lags behind in progress and development" compared to other provinces. He said there was no dearth of finances, and the government would allocate more funds for the development of the province.
"The people of Balochistan are as good patriots as other Pakistanis," he said. "We are striving to take the people forward and provide jobs. I ask you to also get education and skills to ensure that you can compete in the mainstream for securing jobs," he added.
He asked the Ports and Shipping Minister, Babar Khan Ghauri, to prefer locals in appointment at the new port and relax conditions if some candidates lack minimum requirements to increase economic opportunities for them.
The President said that the government would provide Rs 3 billion for development projects in 29 districts of Balochistan and each of these districts will get Rs 100 million. It is now the duty of nazim of every district to provide me with the details of development projects in their respective areas.
He said that the list of these projects will be in his office and he himself would monitor progress on these to ensure their completion.
"Money is not a problem now for us and we are providing huge funds for mega projects in Balochistan including Gwadar Port, Coastal Highway, Mirani Dam and many others."
Musharraf said it was his dream to make Gwadar Port one of the most modern ports of the world. "We want to operate this port in the best possible manner. We will select best company in the world to operate this port on most modern lines, Nobody should have any doubt in his mind about this."
He said the draught of Gwadar Port will be raised to 15 metres through dredging. "This will make it one of the deepest draught ports in the world". The President said Pakistan did not possess the expertise to manage this port and therefore the government has to hire experts from outside to run it.
The President pointed out that foreign investors were showing interest in Gwadar, hotels were coming up and development schemes taking shape. All these opportunities will go away if this port is not run properly, he observed. He said Mirani Dam will help in rehabilitation of 34,000 acres of land in Balochistan and the coastal highway and Ratodero Road will connect this city to rest of the country and to Afghanistan, Central Asian States and China.
Musharraf said his government was undertaking development projects while few anti-development sardars were firing rockets on him. They do not want development of people in Balochistan. "We will not allow these sardars to hinder development work in Balochistan."
The President said he could have ignored and compromised with these elements like the previous governments, but he wanted to identify such elements and stop their misdeeds.
He said a gas pipeline network will be laid in the entire Balochistan and the inexpensive fuel will be provided to people in each and every corner of this province either through pipelines or LNG and LPG projects. Musharraf said the government is examining possibilities for providing gas to every Pakistani by 2007. We will try to provide gas to all 110 districts of the country at affordable rates, he added.
The compressed natural gas (CNG), he said, is an economical option as compared with cylinder gas and this should be provided to remote areas of Pakistan where other options like laying long pipelines are difficult.
He directed for supply of gas to Zhob city. President Musharraf appreciated the management, engineers and workers of SSGC for timely completion of the project.
He said that he was now focussing on poverty alleviation, price control and job creation.
"I am focusing on poverty alleviation and I want to eliminate poverty in the country by increasing employment opportunities. Similarly, I want to control price hike which was hurting the poor", the President added.
He called upon the people to elect development-friendly and good candidates in 2007 elections from Balochistan. "You elect good people and help us. We will bring development and prosperity to this region", he added.
Musharraf said Pakistan was on the road to prosperity and its standing in the comity of world nations was improving. "Our status has been upgraded in the world and today's Pakistan is not a begging country. It is a different country. Leaders of leading countries are coming to us for dealings and business," the President said amid applause.
Chief Minister Mir Jam Muhammad Yousuf said that those who were carrying out bomb blasts and attacks on vital infrastructure are the enemies of Balochistan and they do not want to see development at the grassroots level.
He said the historical journey of development and progress has started in Balochistan and this will continue. "This will change the destiny of the people of Balochistan," Jam Yousuf stated.
State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Mir Naseer Mengal said the President has taken keen interest in fruition of development projects for prosperity and progress of Balochistan.
He said that this gas project was unique for Balochistan and it will cater to the requirement of people.
SSGC MD Munawar Baseer said that the LPG project was completed in a record period of three months on the instructions of the President.
He said that initially, 2500 domestic consumers will get gas connections which will be increased corresponding to demand.