ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said that peace was a prerequisite for development in Northern Areas and added that law and order could not be maintained by security agencies alone.

Talking to a delegation of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League comprising party office-bearers and members of the Northern Areas Legislative Council, he emphasized the role of local leaders and opinion builders in improvement of the law and order situation.

Mr Aziz assured the delegation that maximum jobs would be provided to local people when the recruitment process started.

Referring to the development of the region, he said that the 183 per cent increase in development expenditures of the area over the past five years would herald a new era of prosperity and improve the standard of living.

He said that 740 development schemes worth Rs16 billion were under way in different districts of the area. Besides, he added, the government had approached the World Bank and foreign donors to help prepare a plan in sectors of health, education and recreational facilities and road links to Central Asia and China.

He said the private sector was being encouraged to invest in the area to achieve this objective.