Tuesday, 10 July 2012

GOVT COMMITTED TO POLIO ERADICATION: PM



Islamabad:  July 10, 2012

While addressing the participants of briefing on FATA development projects, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, said categorically that eradication of the menace of Polio in FATA was his government’s priority where 11 cases of polio had been reported during this year out of 22 from the whole country.

The Prime Minister said that it was embarrassing to mention that Pakistan was among three countries of the world where from polio had not been eradicated.

The Prime Minister said that the main cause of polio cases was the inaccessibility of the polio administering teams to the families in FATA region but were taking necessary steps to reach out to these families so that Polio Administering Teams immunize the children during the campaign being launched this month.

The Prime Minister assured the Governor FATA and the Parliamentarians that his government would provide all types of support to the Peace Committees enabling them to augment their capacity to effectively combat the activities of terrorists and do not let them hold FATA hostage.

The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Information to project positively the development activities carried out in FATA. Cultural and sports activities being convened by the people did not get projected in positive manner in the media. it is the need of the time to dispel the impression that the whole FATA was plagued with terrorism, added the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister in his opening remarks said that the PPP governments had introduced landmark reforms in the FATA.  The present government introduced Political Parties Act with a view to mainstream them in the country’s policies and amendment in FCR that entitled the people right of appeal to the High Court which was earlier denied to them.

The Prime Minister said holding of local bodies elections in FATA will ensure the effective participation of the people in the decision making process at the local level which is so important for the promotion of democratic culture. It will send good message in the world as well as the rest of the country, the Prime Minister maintained.

The Prime Minister said that solar energy offered the best solution of energy problem especially for the far flung areas like in FATA and Balochistan where it was difficult to lay transmission lines.


Earlier, the Governor FATA said that the provision of two powerful TV transmitters would help a great deal in projecting the soft image of the FATA which was not getting due at present.

Minister SAFRON Engineer Shaukat Ullhah advocated the cause of equal treatment to the IDPs of FATA as that of Swat and Malakand and added that there should be no discrimination in this regard. Wining the hearts and minds of the people is equally important for the complete rehabilitation of the war affected people, said the Minister.

Haji Muneer Khan Orakzai, parliamentary leader of group of FATA, said that the people of FATA were patriotic Pakistanis and do not hesitate in offering sacrifices to defend the country.

He called upon the government to streamline the mechanism for release of development funds which had been hampering the pace of the execution of the development projects. Timely completion of these projects is important for the social uplift of the poverty and terror stricken people of the region.

Minster for Information, Mr.Qamar Zaman Kaira assured the Governor that all resources would be mobilized to project the soft image of the FATA including the provision of the transmitters to provide quality TV signals to the people of the region.



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