Islamabad, 23rd February, 2017: A meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) met today in Committee Room of old PIPS, Parliament Lodges, Islamabad, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Muhammad Jamal ud Din, MNA. The Committee considered the proposed 38 un-approved new development projects under the PSDP for financial year 2017-18 in detail. The Committee in principal approved the said development projects however decided that the members belonging to FATA will prioritize the projects in their respective constituencies and will forward the same to the Chairman Standing Committee within three working days which will subsequently be forwarded to the Ministry of SAFRON for further necessary action. Earlier the Chief Economist, FATA Secretariat briefed the Committee on the objective and importance of the said proposed development projects for inclusion in the PSDP for financial year 2017-18 in detail. He informed that FATA warrants special attention for inclusion of maximum development projects in the PSDP 2017-18 and requested the Committee that the Federal Government may be recommended that the allocation for block allocation in the PSDP 2017-18 be doubled then the current year. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform should include the proposed development projects of FATA in the coming PSDP for financial year 2017-18 and allocate the requisite budget in the PSDP in order to complete the development projects of FATA in time.

2.         The meeting was also attended by Mr. Muhammad Nazir Khan, Mr. Ghalib Khan, Begum Tahira Bukhari, Ms. Iffat Liaqat, Sheikh Fayyaz-ud-Din, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Lali, Mr. Aftab Shaban Mirani, Mr. Qaiser Jamal, Mr. Nasir Khan, Mr. Bilal Rehman and Mr. Bismillah Khan MNAs and Officers/Officials of the Ministry.