US Ambassador to Pakistan, Ms Anne Patterson called on the NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai (Retd) here at Governor's House on Tuesday. She was accompanied by a delegation comprising Ms Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer US Consulate, Robert Traister, NAS and David Lieberman of USAID.
Additional Chief Secretary Fata Javed Iqbal, Secretary to Governor Azmat Hanif, Secretary Law and Order Arbab Muhammad Arif, Secretary P&D Zafar Hasan and Chief Executive FDA Salim Khan were also present during the meeting.
Matters of common interest were discussed during the meeting, which inter-alia focused on the development initiatives of the government of Pakistan for the socio economic well being of the people of Fata.
The US ambassador reaffirmed her government's commitment for the development of Fata and appreciated Pakistan's role and commitment in the war against terrorism. The proceedings of Pak-Afghan Jirga recently held in Kabul also came under discussion.
Robert of NAS briefly reviewed the different road projects in Khyber and expressed satisfaction over the pace of implementation. The level of co-operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in different fields and the establishment of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in Fata were also discussed.
Governor Aurakzai informed the ambassador about the efforts of the government for multifaceted development of Fata. He made a mention of the substantial increase in the annual development budget for Fata stating that Rs 7.5 billion had been earmarked for this purpose during the current fiscal year. The governor also touched upon the sustainable development plan for Fata and welcomed the financial support promised by the US govt for the purpose.
The governor said that administrative capacity of the Fata Secretariat had been enhanced in order to ensure timely implementation of schemes. The governor thanked the US government for its substantial assistance for different development programs in Fata and strengthening of the law enforcement mechanism.
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