ISLAMABAD, July 11: Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jahangir Khan Tareen said on Tuesday the establishment of Pakistan Stone Development Company (Pasdec) was indeed a great step forward. It will set up marble cities in the country.

President Musharraf has extended unprecedented support to this initiative and his personal interest has made this company functional so soon, Tareen stated while chairing the first broad meeting of the Pasdec.

Secretary Industries Kamran Rasool, chief executive Smeda Shahab Khawaja, and chief executive PIDC Abdul Bari Khan also attended the meeting, says a press release.

The minister said that as running the affairs of the company would be a great responsibility, a professional organisation manned by competent professionals should be in place for the purpose.

As the focus of Pasdec would be on the NWFP and Balochistan, the company should first set up its outposts in these two provinces, said the minister.

He further said that the establishment of this company would go a long way in developing marble and granite sector in the country. The Pasdec will set up new Marble cities in Islamabad, Noshera and Karachi.

The Pasdec in its first board meeting elected Ehsanullah Khan, an entrepreneur from the NWFP, as its chairman, while Farrukh Munir, Abdul Hameed Sheikh, Faiz-ur-Rehman, Sikandar Jogezai, Farooq Rehmatullah, Kamran Rasool, Shahab Khawaja and Abdul Bari Khan will be members.

Sultan Tiwana, GM Smeda will serve as its secretary. Different committees were also formed to run the company's affairs. —APP