September 04, 2007	Tuesday	Sha'aban 21, 1428

PESHAWAR, Sept 3: NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai has said that the government is spending Rs7.5 billion annually to bring improvement to the education sector in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Speaking at a meeting with the participants of the Second Senior Management Course here on Monday, he said the government was paying special attention to women education. He told the meeting that there had been a change in the attitude of tribal people towards women education.

The governor said that a Sustainable Development Plan had been launched to bridge the development gap in Fata.

He said the government had strengthened the traditional administrative system in Fata and political agents were being brought into mainstream.

He said the law and order problem in Fata was a direct outcome of the situation in Afghanistan. He said the government had taken timely actions in the wake of the situation emerging after 9/11 and had apprehended a large number of foreigners with the help of tribesmen. However, he added, presence of certain foreign elements in the area still remained one of the major problems.

Mr Aurakzai said the government had initiated efforts to help restore peace in Afghanistan. The recently held Pakistan-Afghanistan Jirga in Kabul would yield positive results, he added.

Talking about the problem of Afghan refugees, he said the repatriation process was in progress and a significant headway had already been made in this regard.

The governor claimed that the Kachcha Garhi Refugees Camp had been fully vacated while the vacation of the Jallozai Camp was expected to be completed by March next year.

He said that the government agencies had been monitoring the movement of refugees not only for ensuring their proper repatriation but also for checking their activities.