Ishaq Dar assured the director general of the FWO that the government will facilitate them, after consulting with all stakeholders. PHOTO: ZAFAR ASLAM/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD: With relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan being less than optimal in recent times, the country has sought the development route to bridge gaps with its Western neighbour and the finance minister urged the Frontier Works Organisation to expedite construction of the Torkham-Jalalabad highway.
The director general of the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), Maj Gen M Afzal met with finance minister Ishaq Dar to discuss construction related projects in foreign countries on Tuesday.
Afzal stressed that the FWO has the capacity, competence and human resources to undertake projects in foreign countries. He informed Dar that the FWO has opportunities to undertake projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen, and that these projects would earn valuable foreign exchange for the country, adding that the FWO's edge lies in ability work in countries where other international companies are hesitant to go to.
The director general then requested the support of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the finance ministry.
Dar responded by appreciating the FWO’s efforts and added that he recently visited several FWO projects which included the construction of Torkham-Jalalabad Highway in Afghanistan. He said that he has urged all the concerned departments to expedite projects undertaken by the government in Afghanistan which will demonstrate Pakistan’s political commitment to maintain a peaceful relationship with Afghanistan.
The finance minister assured the director general of the FWO that the government will facilitate them, after consulting with all stakeholders and after examining legal and constitutional requirements in this regard.
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@Sandip:
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
Same as India is largest contributor to UN forces, closely followed by Pakistan and Ethiopia. Reason is that these are third world countries and would send their troops for foreign exchange.
FWO is a division of Army, and they have the training to work in danger zones. So if sanctioned by government they will go and do construction work, and in exchange government gets money.
@sandip i wonder how you twisted the metaphor and used fool and angles analogy implying Pakistan as a fool and i guess that is fair enough considering your education is done in india. But angles - if you are referring india as angle then i must say "go back to school"