December 4, 2003	Thursday	Shawwal 9, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Dec 3: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah hinted at the establishment of an industrial estate in Darra Adamkhel and offered tribal entrepreneurs to come forward and set up small industrial units to control unemployment in the area.

Talking to a delegation comprising elders from FR Kohat, headed by MNA Dr Nasim Afridi, here on Tuesday, the governor said that he had already talked to the chief of Pakistan Ordnance Factory to accommodate the skilled work force in the POF.

Referring to the provision of maximum resources for the development of tribal areas, the governor said that the development outlay for Fata had been enhanced three-fold during the previous three years.

He said that the share of FR Kohat in the annual development programme (ADP) had been raised from Rs25 million to Rs80 million this year. “I have also demanded more development funds from the federal government during a recent meeting with Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali”, he said, adding that the prime minister assured him of positive response in this regard.

Regarding the medical facilities in Darra Adamkhel area, he said that a new hospital would be established to meet the emergency requirements. However, he said the people of Darra Adamkhel area, who lived at a short distance from Kohat, would also be able to utilize the health care facilities available in the KDA hospital and Al-Shifa hospital in Kohat.

“We have decided to raise the number of degree colleges in Fata to 50 during the next two years”, he said, adding that “by expanding the education base, we would certainly come to the position to establish separate professional colleges and even a university in the tribal area”.

The governor approved opening of a degree college and upgradation of existing girls middle school to high level. He also directed the officials to arrange a suitable building for the college so that it could start functioning from the next academic session.

To a demand about the provision of natural gas to the FR Kohat, he informed that he had already taken up the matter with the concerned department.

He said that the gas reserves in the Gurgari Gas Field in Karak were three times more than the actual gas consumption in the province. “Therefore”, he added, “we have decided to supply the gas from this gas field to the southern districts and Peshawar”.

Mr Shah said that the present government was striving to enhance the irrigation facilities in Fata. “We have already embarked on a plan to set up 12 small dams in different tribal areas whereas the Nespak has been entrusted the responsibility to identify more such places in Fata where small dams could be constructed”, he said.

The delegation included tribal elders, besides former senators Haji Gul Afridi and Haji Noor Sher Afridi and former MNAs Malik Aslam Khan Afridi and Haji Baz Gul Afridi. Secretary to governor Sahibzada Saeed Ahmad, secretary Fata security Brig Mehmood Shah and Kohat DCO Tariq Hayat Khan were also present on the occasion.