PESHAWAR, Sept 10: NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai has said things in Fata have started moving in the right direction and a pleasant change is expected in the life of its people.

Talking to participants of the 85th National Management Course, currently in progress at the Lahore-based Pakistan Administrative Staff College, the governor said the area had been neglected for a long time which had aggravated people’s miseries.

A 56-member delegation of the participations had called on him at the Governor’s House, Peshawar on Sunday.

Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Additional Chief Secretary (Fata) Muhammad Shahzad Arbab and Secretary to the governor Azmat Hanif Orakzai were also present on this occasion.

The governor said things had already changed to a reasonable extent as compared to the past and realisation of importance of peace towards development process could be witnessed amongst the people.

Referring to the peace agreement recently singed with the tribes of North Waziristan, the governor said it was a major breakthrough in ongoing efforts of the government to curb terrorism and eliminate cross-border militancy.

The governor said for the first time in the history of Fata, a long-term development programme had been prepared which would be implemented during next nine years at a cost of Rs120 billion.

In this connection, he said, newly opened areas would continue to receive special priorities wherein comprehensive packages were already being implemented.

The governor highlighted the ongoing administrative reforms in the Civil Secretariat, Fata, and said that the decision was part of a concrete plan of action which had been initiated for capacity building of the government organisations engaged in the development of Fata.

The basic aim of the efforts, he added, was to ensure proper, effective, efficient and result-oriented utilisation of the huge budgetary outlays being earmarked by the government for the purpose.

The delegates were informed that a Fata development authority and a rural support programme in Fata would be in place by the first quarter of the next financial year. The development authority would focus on the productive sectors, especially mineral development, technical education and industrialisation, while the rural support programme would undertake small schemes in various areas through respective communities.—APP