ISLAMABAD, April 18: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Sunday said his government had followed the economic policies initiated by President Gen Pervez Musharraf. He said the continuity of economic policies was necessary to speed up the pace of development both in the economic and social sectors.

Talking to a British delegation, headed by Lord Nazir Ahmad of Rotherhaim, which called on him at the Prime Minister's House here on Sunday, Mr Jamali said the private sector was being encouraged to play the role of the engine of growth.

The government, he said, was making huge investments in developing infrastructure facilities.here was very conducive. He assured that they would be provided all possible facilities and incentives by the government departments concerned.

Mr Jamali said the government has given 33 per cent representation to women in the district, national and provincial assemblies to bring them into the mainstream of national life.

This would help them to play an effective role in national development. The government, he said, had also initiated a number of policies and projects for women's progress. Huge investments are being made in the health and education sectors. "We think that investment in education is actually the investment in future", he observed.