PESHAWAR: Construction of Agriculture Park in South Waziristan’s regional headquarters of Wana is set to be completed by the end of current month, a security official said.

The park includes a market complex, five warehouses, pine-nut plant and cold storage and other structures. The region is known for producing best quality apple, apricot, peach, tomato and pine-nuts. Pine-nuts are not only transported to markets in the country, but also exported.

“The project will open avenues for the development of central corridor, North and South Waziristan in particular and not only cut down wastages and ensure availability of products to the local populace, but will also help in socio-economic development of the area by creating direct jobs and value addition of the produce,” the official said.

The project, he said, was part of the overall development strategy that went along with rehabilitation and reconstruction process in the tribal region. “There has been tremendous improvement in the overall security environment,” the official said, adding that the entire effort was now geared toward reconstruction and signature projects to improve the living conditions of the people.

He said that security situation across KP and Fata had registered improvement and in 2017 there had been 50 per cent reduction in the number of terrorist incidents. As a result of the improved security situation, the official said, climate for business and investment had also shown improvement and reverse migration of workers had been witnessed.

The improvement in law and order and security situation had also led to a boom in tourism industry in KP and Fata, he pointed out. The number of tourists visiting Swat and other regions registered a spike, while sporting events attracted participation from across the country. The official referred to the cricket Peace Cup in North Waziristan’s regional headquarters of Miramshah in September 2017, played between Pakistan-XI and UK Media Team-XI which was witnessed by a large crowd.

This was followed by Peace Jeep Rally that began in Gilgit Biltistan in October 2017 that took the participants through some of the most scenic areas of Fata and KP, the official reminded.

The national census, the official said, was carried out across Fata and KP without any incident, while the process for the repatriation of 96 per cent of temporarily displaced people had been completed after reconstruction and rehabilitation projects.

The border fencing was going on with full steam despite inclement weather at some places which had not only helped pre-empt the infiltration of terrorists into the country, but also brought down smuggling, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2018