ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that despite the financial crunch, the federal government would duly discharge its fiscal duties towards the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), which remains the most underdeveloped region of the country and a frontline territory in the war against terrorism.

Speaking during a meeting in Islamabad with Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Engineer Shaukatullah Khan, Dar said all political parties must work together in order to resolve the country’s economic problems.

He vowed that the federal government would fulfill its responsibilities with regard to the troubled region which received only 82 per cent funds of the Annual Development Program against the total allocation during the previous financial year.

Furthermore, the finance minister said the federal government had paid off 67 per cent of the circular debt, while the remaining amount would also be paid before the deadline.

Earlier in June, a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had decided that Rs326 billion circular debt would be settled before June 30 while the rest of the amount out of the entire Rs503 billion which was outstanding would be settled before August 10.

Later in July, sources in private power companies told Dawn that the unpaid bills of these companies — commonly known as circular debt — have again started to pile up in spite of the payment by the government of Rs260 billion to clear their outstanding bills up to the end of March this year.