ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has pledged to provide houses to all government employees across the country with complete infrastructure and utilities.

He was presiding over a meeting attended by four provincial governors, chief ministers, ministers for housing and works, finance, privatization, governor of State Bank, senior officials from gas and power utilities, heads of banks and other high officials at the Prime Minister House on Saturday.

The prime minister said the housing facilities would be provided up to district level to government employees with special focus on federal and provincial capitals.

He said this initiative was also aimed to provide employment opportunities to skilled and unskilled labour force in the country besides alleviating poverty. The prime minister said the move was likely to generate economic activity in over 42 industries.

The prime minister was of the view that at present a large number of federal and provincial employees of public sector were without government accommodation which required hiring of houses at a large scale.

This, he said, in turn was causing huge burden on the government exchequer.

He directed the chief ministers to come up with proposals for regularization of Katchi Abadis on federal and provincial government lands so that the residents could be given ownership rights of these land.

He also directed banks to come up with schemes for financing government housing projects on priority basis with lesser and affordable mark-up.

He assured the banks that their investment would be protected through proper legislation.

Mr Jamali appreciated the initiative taken up by Punjab Government in housing sector and asked other provinces to emulate the role model set by the Punjab province.

"We would also welcome private sector's help to provide housing facilities to every government servant," he observed.

The prime minister categorically said that any sort of artificial price escalation in land for housing would be strictly curbed.

He said solution to the housing problem of the federal and provincial government servants would go a long way in enhancing their efficiency and productivity.

The meeting was attended by Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool, NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Yousuf, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Privatization Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Housing and Works Minister Syed Safwanullah, State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, National Bank of Pakistan President Syed Ali Raza, HBL President Syed Zakir Hussain, Union Bank President Shaukat Tareen and Wapda Chairman Tariq Hameed.

MEETING WITH DURRANI: The prime minister has assured the NWFP government of Centre's full support in recruitment of more police personnel to ensure better law and order in the province.