80% development targets met, says G-B minister

GILGIT: Briefing lawmakers of the G-B Assembly on Thursday, Minister for Works Dr Muhammad Iqbal said 80% targets set for the initial 100 days had been achieved.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Iqbal said 12 megawatts of electricity was added to the system over 100 days – the target was 17.5MW. He said the target for road repair and construction was 65 kilometres. “We repaired 80 kilometres across G-B,” Iqbal said.

“Overall achievement stands at 80% which I think is decent progress,” said Iqbal who was assigned the task by G-B Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman. He was responding to questions from the opposition benches during assembly proceedings.

Imran Nadeem, the lone lawmaker from PPP, appreciated the achievement, but said targets should have been set after consultation with the opposition benches.

Leader of the Opposition Shah Baig and Parliamentary Secretary of Agriculture Haider Khan expressed their reservations over the process of shortlisting staff in the donor-funded project International Fund for Agricultural Development. IFAD is meant to boost agriculture. Haider complained about the lack of cooperation by secretaries and asked the speaker to take notice of it.

Deputy Speaker Jaffarullah expressed his concern over the firing of staff in the local government and asked the relevant authorities to ensure their pension.  —  The Express Tribune