ISLAMABAD, June 21: Pakistan has formally sought US help to establish qualified industrial zones (QIZs) in tribal and other terroristprone areas in an effort to reduce poverty and eradicate the menace of extremism. Officials told Dawn on Tuesday that the proposal had been discussed by Commerce Secretary Tasneem Noorani with US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca and Deputy US Trade Representative Ambassador Josette Shiner in Washington recently.

The officials said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would formally discuss the proposal with top US officials during his visit to Washington next month.

During the meeting, the commerce secretary emphasized that while military measures were necessary, these were only one part of the battle against extremism. He told the US officials it was important to get to the root of the problem.

According to officials, Islamabad demanded a similar arrangement of the Israel-Jordan QIZ for both Pakistan and Afghanistan to generate employment opportunities in the remote areas and reduce the endemic poverty there, with the aim of countering the rise of extremism.

Under this arrangement, products produced in such zones could be exportable to the US market duty-free or at preferential customs duty.

The benefit derived from QIZs could be shared appropriately between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In the QIZs, Pakistan could unilaterally establish factories or it could establish them in Afghanistan in collaboration with the Afghan government.

The officials said Pakistan had proposed a special trading arrangement for economically-depressed regions, particularly the tribal areas of the country, as well as working with the US for the economic development of Afghanistan.

A study recently conducted in Pakistan showed strong correlation between extremism and incidence of poverty in the country.

The officials said that under the proposed plan, the government had also decided to involve the private sector to address poverty issues in economically -depressed regions.

However, the officials said that in case the US promised a preferential market for Pakistani products, this would create incentives for the private sector to invest in these regions, create employment and generate economic activity.