HARIPUR, Feb 20: Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan has said that Rs1.34 billion has been spent on uplift projects in his constituency during the last three years while a number of schemes worth millions of rupees are in the pipeline.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a 900-line wireless local loop (WLL) system exchange set up at cost of Rs12m in village Kalinjar. He said national economy was growing at a desired pace and the living standard of people of even remote areas was improving, which indicated that the country had been put on the right track.

Shahrah-e-Karakorum was being turned into a duel carriage-way from Hassan Abdal to Mansehra which was expected to increase economic activity in Hazara division, particularly the trade with China, which stood at $3 billion per annum, would further increase.

He said in order to arrest the current trend of unemployment, the National Technical Vocational Authority would equip 300,000 youths with technical training every year. Besides, he said, a Rs6-billion Khushal Pakistan Fund was being launched to provide basic facilities to remote UCs.

However, he said, certain elements were not in favour of prosperity and were out to harm the process of development by creating law and order situation. He said settling ablaze government and private properties was good neither for the country nor for any religion.

Mr Ayub also lambasted the Baloch Sardars for what he said ‘anti people role’ and alleged that they were sabotaging the process of development in Balochistan.