Socio-economic uplift of Balochistan top priority, says President Zardari

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President Asif Ali Zardari said that the government had prioritised the socio-economic development of Balochistan and its people and was undertaking every measure necessary, while talking to a delegation of Quetta Chamber of Commerce & Industry (QCCI) on Friday at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The delegation headed by QCCI President Ghulam Farooq comprised former president Wali Muhammad, Muhammad Musa Khan Kakar, Abdul Rehman Shah Agha, Zaffar Razzaque Durrani, Haji Abdullah Achakzai and Sarwar Ahmed. Senior Members of Commerce and Industry Haji Fateh Khan, Muhammad Hashim Khan Tareen, Haji Abdul Wadood Achakzai, Hamdullah Khan Tareen, Essa Khan Kharoti, Haji Tahir, Haji Abdul Rahim and Umer Khan Achakzai were also present.
Secretary-general to the President M Salman Faruqui, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar, Federal Secretaries of Finance, Petroleum, Water & Power, Industries and Planning & Development division were also present during the meeting. Farhatullah Babar in a briefing about the meeting said that President Zardari welcomed the delegation and congratulated the newly elected members of QCCI and wished them success.
Zardari said his government was also aware of the challenges in Balochistan, especially the law and order situation and was striving to address those issues.
He said that boosting trade activities and facilitating the business community was among the priorities of the government. The President said that in view of the importance of exports for the well being of the economy, the government was planning to offer targeted incentives to businessmen. Greater exports meant greater foreign exchange earnings, greater economic activities and more job opportunities, the President added.
Recounting various steps taken by the government for the facilitation of the business community, the President noted that the government had fulfilled a long standing demand of the business community by decreasing the mark up rate. He said that in order to give medium term outlook to the policy regime, Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) for the years 2009-12 was introduced in addition to the yearly trade policy. Work on STPF 2012-15 was underway in consultation with all stakeholders, said Zardari.