ISLAMABAD: Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan has said that the offices of federal agencies would soon be set up in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) so that the people living here do not have to go to Islamabad for the necessary paperwork.
He expressed these views while addressing a seminar on the ‘Socio-Economic Development of Gilgit-Baltistan’, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives and Planning Development Department of GB on Monday.\
Jehanzeb Khan has said that the incumbent government is fully committed to achieving the objectives of socio-economic development and political stability in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The high-level forum, for the first time, deliberated upon the five-year plan/program developed for various sectors by the Planning Commission in collaboration with the GB government, he added.
He said major sectors under the plan include infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, health, education, higher education, energy and gems & precious stones.
Jehanzeb said that GB’s mineral sector development would be focused upon through strong research & development activities, regulatory framework, resource mapping and deployment of modern technologies.
On tourism, he said that the government is planning to develop the tourism sector as an industry. Several interventions have been identified to harness the potential such as infrastructure development, legal and regulatory framework, private sector facilitation, the comfort of tourists and needs of the local community, marketing strategy and skilled development, he added.
Khan maintained that the government would focus on community-based sustainable interventions, capitalizing on the potential local resources, improvement in Human Development Indicators including health, education, water & sanitation and immunization.
The present government has taken different steps to facilitate public-private partnership (PPP) in certain mega projects under the Public Sector Development Programme, he informed.
The DGPC added that increased productivity in agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors could impact the livelihood of the local community, adding that the establishment of cold chain, agro-based industry and food processing industry, backed by strong R&D, would be the key areas of focus.
He asserted, “There is a need for a foolproof implementation strategy to materialize all the proposed plans realistically, otherwise we may end up with a long wish list. Institutional reforms will also play a key role in this regard.”
