Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that development of the merged tribal areas was a top priority of the government.
Lauding the sacrifices of the residents of the tribal areas, the prime minister said that the government was specially focusing on the social and economic uplift of these areas to improve the living standard of their residents and bring it at par with the rest of the country.
The PM expressed these views during a meeting with Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.
Minister for Communication Murad Saeed, Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan and Special Assistant on Political Affairs Naeemul Haq were also present during the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the progress and future strategy for the development and progress of the tribal areas.
The PM said the government was making all out efforts to provide employment opportunities to the youth in these areas, so that they could fully utilize their potential.
He said the government was striving to cut maximum expenditures in the fiscal budget by adopting austerity measures. However, he said, full focus was needed on the uplift of backward areas and to provide assistance to the weaker segments of society. He said that in the upcoming budget, special attention would be paid on the progress and development of the less developed areas of Balochistan and the erstwhile tribal areas.
Chief Minister KPK apprised the Prime Minister over progress on the ongoing development projects in these areas, especially about the provision of SehatInsaf Card.
