PESHAWAR: For the newly combined districts of North and South Waziristan, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has finalized an Economic Development Plan (EDP) that calls for the implementation of 113 initiatives across various sectors (NMDs).

In North Waziristan District, 55 projects worth Rs 16 billion will be completed over the next three years, while 57 projects worth Rs 24 billion will be completed in South Waziristan District.

As a result of these projects, local businesses are expected to grow, and jobs are expected to be created. An additional 7.8 billion dollar project for the beautification of urban areas and bazaars in merged districts has been approved by provincial government and will be formally approved by the appropriate forum next week.

Similarly, a plan is being developed to make use of the combined areas’ mineral potential in order to create jobs for residents. Besides, a project for the construction of district and tehsil complexes in the NMDs has also been approved. Similarly, the forum was told that a special project has been initiated for land settlement in merged areas adding that PC-Is of two separate projects had been approved to promote tourism in merged areas.

A necessary legislation has been completed for the regularization of 3477 project employees of Erstwhile FATA. The provincial government has also finished training over 18000 police officers, with the final group scheduled to be trained by the end of June.

In addition, the purchase of weapons and vehicles for the police force was in progress. Similarly, 715 new positions in NMDs’ counter-terrorism division were approved. The forum agreed to work closely with the military and civil authorities in order to maintain law and order, resolve public issues, and expedite development projects in merged districts.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022