ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced an immediate power supply of 100 megawatts and an Rs1 billion merit-based endowment fund for university students of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
While chairing a special meeting of the GB cabinet during his daylong visit, the premier expressed satisfaction and pleasure over the timely completion of Bubar Model Village, which he had inaugurated earlier to provide housing facilities to the people affected by floods in 2022.
He instructed the GB administration to establish educational institutions, playgrounds, power transmission and other facilities in the Ghizer district.Besides announcing an immediate power supply of 100 megawatts to GB, the prime minister announced a Rs1bn merit-based endowment fund for the students of Baltistan University and Karakorum University.
The premier also told the GB cabinet members that the federal government would establish Daanish Schools in the area, similar to those in the Punjab province, adding that his government was actively working for the uplift and welfare of the GB people.
He recalled that while being the Punjab chief minister, his government had given a Rs1bn gift to uplift GB’s education sector.He said that the provincial governments’ cooperation with the federal government for economic stability was significant.
The prime minister told the participants that the stock exchange crossed the 92,000 mark and the increase in remittances, tax return filers and reduction in inflation were pleasant developments for the national economy.
He lauded the role of all provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and GB in the national development and highlighted his government’s special focus on the uplift of GB, merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The prime minister said that the federal government was taking measures to promote tourism in GB as the Qatari government had also expressed interest in investing in tourism in the area.The meeting was attended by federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar, Amir Muqam and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, members of the GB cabinet and relevant senior officers.
Meanwhile, he also unveiled a plaque for the upcoming 216-kilometer Gilgit-Shandur Road project, which is set to be completed by November 2025. Once finished, the road will significantly reduce the travel time between Gilgit and Shandur from eight hours to just three hours, further boosting connectivity in the region.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan thanked the Prime Minister for his continued support in the region, particularly following the floods. He said the newly built model village is equipped with all the basic amenities, including proper connectivity, which will help uplift the lives of the affected residents.
A community member from the village also expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Gulbar Khan, former Chief Minister Hafeez Hafeez-ur-Rehman, and the district administration for their combined efforts in rebuilding the village and rehabilitating flood-affected families.
