The federal government will provide Rs 110 billion per year for 10 years to develop projects in Federally Administered Tribal Areas as part of the FATA reforms announced recently. Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch informed this to National Assembly on Wednesday during the question hour. He said the government allocated Rs 20 billion in the federal Public Sector Development Programme for FATA development in the financial year 2016-17.
The government is focusing on carrying on development in the tribal areas, he said, adding that maximum number of colleges and universities will also be established in FATA agencies. He also informed the House that 8,000 houses are reported to have damaged in North Waziristan during the military operation, and a survey has been conducted to get an estimate of the damaged houses and till date 2,370 cases have come to fore and have been validated.
The federal government is providing funds as compensation to the tune of Rs 400,000 for a fully damaged house and Rs 160,000 for a partially damaged house to the affected owners. Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the House that Pakistan has been striving to become a full dialogue partner of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to increase its trade with member countries.
Pakistan has adopted the policy to conclude bilateral agreements with the major players of the ASEAN, he said, adding that Pakistan's trade with Myanmar is through ASEAN and the government will engage with Myanmar after the ongoing efforts with the major players in the ASEAN reach fruition.
Pakistan's exports to Myanmar were $10.9 million in the year 2015-16, he said, adding that main reason for decrease in exports of the country is global recession and slowdown in China. He said exports were also affected by low price of commodities in the international market. Dastgir said the Prime Minister has offered duty drawback package to exporters for increasing exports. He said under Strategic Trade Policy Framework, incentives have been provided for import of machinery and loans.
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