Daily Times

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said passing on the benefits of development to individuals, communities and under-developed localities was imperative for achieving sustainable national progress.

Chairing a review-meeting on development projects of backward districts, he said the government had prepared a special package for 20 selected under-privileged districts to bring them at par with other developed areas of the country. Sharing detail of the package, Ahsan Iqbal said development activities would be carried out in 11 selected districts of Balochistan, five of Sindh, three of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one of Punjab, with 50 per cent contribution by the federal government and 50 per cent of respective provinces.

Calling for concerted efforts to develop less developed areas across the country, he highlighted important role of provincial governments in uplifting of the backward areas, particularly in Balochistan, interior Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the number of such localities was high. Addressing the representatives of provincial governments, the minister emphasized that if these areas were not specifically included in the development stream; they would always remain backward, adding “stable sustainable development depends on ensuring that no one person or region lags behind others.”

He said surveys of the selected backward districts were being conducted to determine the required development projects of different natures. “We want to bring these districts at par with other developed districts in 5-7 years,” he added. He said different facilities like education, health, communications, agriculture, industries and employment opportunities were being examined in the under-privileged areas to plan the development schemes accordingly. “Ensuring equal distribution of resources in the country is a priority of the government,” he remarked. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized on provision of solar electricity solutions in schools and hospitals of the poorest districts, directing formulation of an umbrella PC-1 for the initiative to ensure the smooth implementation of the initiative.

He also inquired about the progress on the Prime Minister’s directive to include an additional 500,000 poor people from Baluchistan province in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), seeking a report in this regard.