June 05, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1428

PESHAWAR, June 4: The North West Frontier Province will get Rs1.5 billion as its share in the Khushhal Pakistan Fund in the next budget to improve basic amenities in the areas under its control.

The amount would be in addition to the enhanced proceeds on account of increased federal divisible pool and subvention to be made to the province in the next fiscal year, secretary-general of the finance department, Naveed Ahsan, told a pre-budget seminar here on Monday.

The NWFP chapter of the Press Information Department organised the seminar entitled ‘A milestone in continuation of economic reforms,’ which was attended by industrialists, traders, economists, academics and retired bureaucrats.

The Khushhal Pakistan Fund would be enlarged and extended to all provinces in the next federal budget, he said, adding that it would help the NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh governments in providing drinking water, sanitation and other basic amenities to the public.

The next budget, he maintained, would bring prosperity to the poor and middle classes, particularly the farmers, with the expansion of micro-financing at the district level, he said. The State Bank had prepared new regulations for establishment of a private sector micro-finance bank on the pattern of the Khushali Bank.

The branches of the bank would be opened at the district level. It would be supported by the government to help alleviate poverty, he maintained.

Earlier, former NWFP chief secretary Azam Khan, economist Dr Abdul Mateen, businessmen Haji Javid, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, Adil Rauf, Mazharul Haq and Sharafat Ali Mubarik presented their suggestions for the next budget.