Peshawar: A high-level meeting held under the chair of the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan at the Governor’s House, Peshawar on Saturday decided to reopen the big industrial units at Bara, Khyber Agency. All the small industrial units in Bara were reopened a month earlier. The reopened industrial units included ghee, steel, plastic and cigarette industries.
Senator Ilyas Bilour, Senator Mohsin Aziz, office-bearers of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chambers of Commerce and Industries, high officers and leading industrialists attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting the Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan disclosed that reopening of industrial units which remained closed since 2009 reflected the fact that the area was going towards normalcy. He said with the revival of 150 closed industrial units in Bara, thousands of people would get job opportunities.
He said repatriation of IDPs to their homes was continued since March 16 and till now 2,80,000 people of 40,000 families had been gone to their homes while repatriation of all the IDPs of Khyber Agency would be materialized till the end of August this year.
The Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan said that sacrifices offered by the Pakistan Army and security forces in extirpating terrorism from the tribal belt was a bright chapter in the history of the country. He said the role played by the industrialists in reopening of the closed industrial units at Bara was greatly commendable. He said the government would provide all possible assistance and facilities to the industrialists in this regard.
Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan said that the gallant jawans of Pak Army, security forces, political administration and the patriot tribesmen offered a lot of sacrifices that resulted in bringing peace and stability in the tribal areas and the terrorists were being washed away. He said soon after the return of IDPs to their homes, rehabilitation, reconstruction and economic activities had also been initiated in the tribal belt.
The governor said reopening the Bara closed industries was not only the start of economic activities in the area but the confidence of the investors and tribal population on the efforts of the government as well. He said repatriation of the IDPs and reopening of the closed industrial units was the starting point of the reconstruction, rehabilitation and economic stability in the tribal areas and the sacrifices offered by the tribesmen would not be ignored at any cost. He categorically stated that the terrorists would not be allowed to come to the tribal belt again. He disclosed that Rs. 1.5 billion had been allocated for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and infrastructure in the tribal areas.
The political agent Khyber Agency briefed the participants of the meeting and stated that all the infrastructure including electricity and communication facilities were being provided to the industrial units. The industrialists greatly commended the reopening of the closed industrial units at Bara and assured their full support and coordination to the governor in this regard.
