Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal met lawmakers from the country’s 20 poorest districts and sought their input for execution of special development initiatives in their respective areas.

These districts include 11 districts from Balochistan including Sherani, Kohlu, Jhal Magsi, Barkhan, Killa Abdullah, Zhob, Musakhel, Dera Bugti, Jaffarabad, Ziarat and Killa Saifullah, five from Sindh; Sujawal, Thatta, Tharparkar, Kashmore and Badin, three from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Torghar, Shangla and North Waziristan and Rajanpur district from Punjab.

Many of these have been directly affected by the recent flood disaster and were identified by Planning Ministry for a 5-year (2022-27) project for special development initiatives at a cost of 40 billion rupees.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the aim is to engage the lawmakers and get their input before execution of these projects to uplift the 20 backward and poor districts of the country.

Assuring them that he will personally visit each district, Ahsan Iqbal said the projects will eliminate the geographical disparity of development in the country.

He said in the first phase, education, health, energy and infrastructure will be focused on the basis of study conducted in each district to know the critical needs there.

During the meeting, the lawmakers appreciated the efforts of the ministry and shared their recommendations.

Meanwhile, the Minister also chaired a roundtable with the entrepreneurs and development experts from the 20 poorest districts to register their feedback on addressing inequality in Pakistan.

The Minister underscored the importance of intervention from local bodies and stakeholders to make an effective framework to address the issue at hand.

Source: Radio Pakistan