Karachi:The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Tuesday demanded concrete steps to develop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas to ensure lasting peace.
The government should promote trade and industry in these areas to develop them and provide jobs to thousands of unemployed for which investors should be given some incentives, said Vice President FPCCI Qaisar Khan Daudzai.
In a statement issued here today, he said that terrorism spanned over two decades had damaged infrastructure and left many important departments dysfunctional which should be revived without delay. He said that youth should be provided jobs to combat extremism while a number of vocational institutes should be established for the youth so that they can earn a respectable livelihood.
The FPCCI VP said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and erstwhile FATA were rich in oil gas and mineral resources which should be exploited to boost economic activities. Erstwhile FATA being one of the most backward and deprived regions of the country could turn to be economically independent within a short span of a few years if the natural resources are exploited in a proper manner which would pave the way to secondary investments like refineries, power plants, fertilizer plants and petrochemicals etc.
The oil and gas reserves in the region could change the fate of Pakistan by reducing dependence on imports and saving a lot of foreign exchange, he observed. He noted that the success ratio of gas wells in this province was better than the rest of Pakistan and global ratio but it was not getting due attention while many foreign companies were hesitating investment due to security concerns. The security situation had improved in the province but the concerns of foreign investors should be allayed without delay, he said, adding that development in the province was must to capture Afghan and central Asian markets.