IT Park to be Established in NWFP, says Khosa

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Information Technology Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa said information technology (IT) facilities would be provided to the NWFP equal to the other provinces of the country. He also conceded to set up an IT Park in the province, which would be inaugurated very soon.
Khosa was talking to a 3-member delegation of NWFP government headed by Minister for Science Technology and IT Muhammad Ayub Khan who called on him.
The delegation requested the adviser that federal government has already started to establish basic IT infrastructure setup through Universal Services Fund in the province but it has ignored the Malakand region, which should be included on priority basis. After the IT infrastructure setup is established in the province the NWFP IT Department would facilitate and provide the different IT-based services in the region including computerisation of judicial, police system and other departments as especially recommended by the federal cabinet for good governance plan, the delegation informed the adviser.
The delegation also told that education system in the NWFP had completely collapsed due to terrorism activities and there is an urgent need for rehabilitation in ICT-education sector. “A separate project for 5,000 university students of Malakand region should be launched through ICT Research and Development Fund, the delegation demanded.
The delegation also demanded the re-initiation of computer labs project in government schools in the province, which was started by Pakistan Computer Bureau and abandoned later on. The delegation informed the adviser that the NWFP had taken an initiative through establishment of the IT Excellent Centre in Peshawar for capacity building of unemployed IT graduates and demanded for complete sponsorship to advance the scope of the project. The adviser assured the delegation to help the provincial government to meet the challenges in different areas where communication system, infrastructure and other sectors have been badly hit by terrorism.
Via Daily Times