March 28, 2003	Friday	Muharram 24, 1424

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PESHAWAR, March 27: The federal government is yet to release of Rs200 million for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas under the Fata Development Package of Rs1 billion.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday, NWFP Governor Syed  Iftikhar Hussain Shah told a delegation of Fata senators that the government had released Rs800 million, which was spent on projects in the areas.

The delegation, comprising Hafiz Abdul Malik Qadri, Malik Mohammad Ajmal Khan, Tahir Iqbal Khan, Abdur Rasheed, Sajjad Hussain and Hameedullah Afridi, discussed the development requirements and identified schemes suitable to their areas.

The governor said a large amount had been allocated for education, health, communications, electricity and roads in Fata.

He said the natural resources of the tribal areas would be exploited and small industries set up to create job opportunities.

He informed the senators that consultancy of building of small dams on Kaithu river in North Waziristan Agency had been granted and technical evaluation reports had been completed. The dams would provide water for irrigation and generating electricity at a low cost for setting up an industrial estate.

In a meeting with a Pakistan Navy War College group on a study tour, the governor said arrangements were being made for the implementation of the devolution plan in Fata and efforts would be made for the economic uplift of the tribesmen.  

He said the province had to obtain 92 per cent of its financial resources from the federal government. The location of the NWFP and presence of millions of Afghan refugees had badly affected the economy of the province and it generated only eight percent of the revenue required for its development requirements, he said.