PM wants more jobs in tribal districts
Government increases stipend for poor by Rs500
Prime Minister Imran Khan says his government has allocated record funds for the development of tribal districts to remove the sense of deprivation of people.
Addressing the provincial cabinet in Peshawar yesterday, he said the purpose of merging tribal districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is to bring these areas equal to the developed parts of the country.
Khan said that moving the process of merging of tribal districts and provision of jobs opportunities for the youth of these areas are the top priorities of the government.
The prime minister directed the concerned authorities to take effective steps to enhance trade and business activities for the socioeconomic development of the merged districts.
Khan also directed for focusing on promotion of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that all efforts should be utilised for this purpose.
The prime minister also directed for enhancing employment opportunities in the erstwhile tribal areas to ensure socio-economic progress of the region.
On a related matter, the federal government has increased the quarterly cash grant for 4.3mn beneficiaries of the poverty alleviation Ehsaas Kifalat Programme of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs5,000 to Rs5,500.
This was announced over the weekend by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar.
In a statement yesterday, she said this increase would mean that the government will provide Rs8.6bn more for cash transfers to the poorest of the poor.
She said that the BISP now has 4.27mn active beneficiaries after the delisting 820,000 undeserving beneficiaries.
Nishtar said that the increased stipend will be given only to the deserving beneficiaries.