The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information and Public Relations, Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that discovery of oil and gas in southern districts would help develop those areas adding that royalty of those areas have been increased from five to ten per cent.

This he said while giving a grant of rupees two lacs to President D.I.Khan Press Club in Peshawar on Thursday. Secretary Information, Azmat Hanif Orakzai and Director Information, Shuaib Ud Din were also present on this occasion.

            Speaking on this occasion the Information Minister said that huge sum of royalty has been allocated in the next financial year. With the increase in royalty, the people of southern districts would no longer have a sense of deprivation and the fate of common man would be changed, he said. The people of those districts that produce oil and gas have the right to avail this facility in the first place and the government has also directed to provide gas to the residents of those districts before taking it to other parts of the country. He said his government was trying to defreeze the amount of electricity royalty being given to the province. The said royalty which amounts to Rs. 6 billion being given to this province was also due to the efforts of his earlier coalition government in 1991 and as a result the government was able to present a balanced budget without getting loan.  He said his government had presented a record budget of 76 billion rupees in 2011-12.

            He said the royalty being given to the province would be spent only on power producing projects adding that feasibility of 24 projects have been initiated out of which seven projects were about to be inaugurated. These projects would not only make up the need of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but would also solve problem of the entire country.

            Referring to the welfare of journalists, the Information Minister said we realized their difficulties and importance and was taking every possible step to solve it.