Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro Tuesday said the government was working on various schemes to tap the tremendous potential of tourism in the Northern Areas.
This would bring more investments, local as well as foreign besides generating income and employment opportunities for the local people, he said this while talking to the Chief Executive of Northern Areas, Mir Gazanfar Ali, who called on him here. The prime minister said Northern Areas is an important region and the government will continue taking steps for providing basic facilities of life to the people in the region.
He said the government has given more powers to the Council of Northern Areas so as to improve the decision making process and empowered the people to resolve their problems at the local level. The prime minister said Northern Areas have breathtaking natural beauty and offer some of the highest peaks in the world including K-2 and Nanga Parbat. He said Northern Areas are also important for being the catchment's area of our rivers and a gateway to China.
The Karakoram Highway, which is a symbol of Pak-China friendship and passes through these areas, is being expanded to cater for the need of heavy traffic, thus boosting the economic activities in the region, he added.
The prime minister said the construction of Diamer-Basha Dam would usher in a new era of prosperity and progress in the region resulting in creation of new jobs, enhancing the economic activities in the region and improving the standards of living of the people.
The Chief Executive of Northern Areas thanked the Prime Minister for Federal Government's interest in improving the living standards of the people of Northern Areas and providing them basic necessities at their doorsteps.