Gilgit-Baltistan governor shows commitment

GILGIT: In her first interaction with journalists after assuming the role of Governor Gilgit-Baltistan, Dr Shamma Khalid vowed on Tuesday to bring about a radical change in the lives of women of the region.

“No society can develop unless its mothers are educated, and we are determined to achieve it,” she told journalists at her office.

Khalid said that keeping in view the sensitivity of the region’s social values, the government has decided to set up a separate university for women in Gilgit adding that the region’s potential needs to be explored.

The governor termed peace a prerequisite for development and said that no progress can be made unless peace prevails. The region has been given back its lost identity by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and a thorough monitoring of its affairs is now required.

The governor praised the Karakoram International University for providing access to higher education to thousands of students. She said a medical university will soon be established in Gilgit saying, “I am committed to doing it.”

The PPP has fulfilled the promise made by late Benazir Bhutto by appointing a female governor in a male-dominated society, Khalid said. She said incentives will be provided to people working in the tourism industry in order to attract visitors to the region.

The governor added that judges will be chosen in accordance with the governance order 2009 and said judges belonging to the bar and lower courts will be appointed.

With regards to deforestation, the governor said laws will soon be passed through the Gilgit-Baltistan council to regulate measures in relation to this activity.

Khalid also said that reforms related to health, education, forests, minerals, tourism and wildlife sectors will be introduced to facilitate people of the province.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2010.