President General Pervez Musharraf directed on Tuesday that all ongoing development projects in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) be completed on schedule for the socio-economic uplift and welfare of the residents of these areas.
He made these remarks during a meeting with NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Retd). The President said that there is a need for accelerating the development work in Fata as these areas had remained underdeveloped in the past and there is a need to bring them at par with the rest of the country.
During the course of the meetings the governor of NWFP gave an extensive briefing on the prevailing security environment in the Fata region and outlined the political initiatives, including agreements reached and ongoing discussions with various tribes for improvement in the overall law and order situation.
The governor informed the President of the extensive works and schemes in the education, health, drinking water, irrigation, agriculture sectors and roads and communications infrastructure undertaken in Fata by the federal government.
He said that in the financial year 2004-2005, an amount of Rs 880 million has been allocated for education, Rs 840 million for road and tracks, Rs 424 million for health, Rs 252 million for drinking water schemes, Rs 265 million for agriculture and Rs 460 million for irrigation.
He said that emphasis is being given to the construction of small dams of which two had already been constructed, work on six is ongoing, while construction on another six is to commence this year.
The governor said that in addition to these allocations, a number of developmental projects have been undertaken in Fata under auspices of the Pakistan Army and the Governors Special Package for North and South Waziristan Agencies.
He said that there has been a very positive response from the people of the area, who are fully supportive of these schemes, as they would help improve their quality of life and provide job opportunities to them.
The President expressed his deep appreciation of the initiatives that had been taken in Fata. He said that people of the tribal areas are patriotic Pakistanis and it is important to bring these areas into the mainstream of national life.
He added that the government would continue to strive for the uplift of this region.
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