PESHAWAR, June 24: NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman has said the government has initiated measures to promote economic activities in Fata by purposeful utilization of indigenous resources.

Talking to a 21-member group of the DMG officers, currently undergoing training at the Civil Services Academy in Lahore who had called on him at the Governor’s House here on Friday, the governor said the people of Fata, who had been a victim of neglect for long, were facing various difficulties of serious nature, said a handout.

The curse of smuggling was badly affecting the economy of the entire country, he said. As far as Fata was concerned, he said, the initiatives taken by the government for improvement of socio-economic situation in the area had no precedence in the past.

Responding to a question, he said the government, apart from giving priority to improvement of education and healthcare services, was also targeting development of agriculture and irrigation sectors.

Referring to the education sector, he said about 11 degree colleges for women had been established in Fata over the past few years wherein staff deficiency had been met by making recruitments from among the candidates of settled areas.

The governor expressed the confidence that after 2007, requirement of the staff in the educational institutions would be met locally.

Apart from other reforms, the government was also making efforts to streamline financial matters in Fata which would also bring pleasant changes in the life of people.

The delegates were informed about the history of Fata. The writ of the government in the area is established through an indirect system of governance which is subject to the implementation of the law of collective responsibility.

The literacy rate in Fata is miserably low and among females it stood at three per cent.

The government has increased the number of educational institutions to 5,000 and among them 2,000 are for females. Similarly, there are almost 665 health institutions, including six agency headquarter hospitals in Fata.