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Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, while addressing a meeting held at the Prime Minister's House Friday under his chairmanship, said that the present government gave identity to Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that law and order in GB and improvement of economy was on the top of the government’s priorities. The Prime Minister said that Gilgit-Baltistan enjoyed complete autonomy, which was manifest from the fact that it now had its own Governor, elected Chief Minister, Legislative Assembly and other administrative institutions. Gone are the days when GB used to be administered by a junior level bureaucrat based in Islamabad, the PM added. The Prime Minister said that maintenance of law and order should be the top priority even now because without this the economic development and the prosperity of the people would remain a pipedream. The Prime Minister assured the Governor and Chief Minister of GB that the Federal Government would provide sufficient resources, expertise and requisite manpower to overcome the challenges of sectarianism and economic development. The Prime Minister also appealed to intelligentsia, religious scholars, opinion makers and the political leadership to mobilize public opinion against sectarianism. He said that only the political leadership of all shades could create social resistance against the scourge, which was affecting the economic development of the region. The Prime Minister said that the region provided the energy security to the country because it had the potential of generating around 40,000 MW to 50,000 MW of cheap electricity on long-term basis. The Prime Minister said that with the completion of Dia Mir Bhasha Dam, an era of prosperity would commence because its construction and operation, besides creating thousands of jobs, would address the problem of energy deficits to a large extent. He said that its enormous accumulative social impact would be simply amazing. The Prime Minister said that the Federal Government was keen to extend every kind of help for promotion of tourism industry because the region has a tourist attraction due to its exceptional natural beauty and amazing landscape. The Prime Minister said that the due attention would be accorded to tap its mineral resources. The Prime Minister said that the federal government would continue to give wheat subsidy to the people and the GB government must ensure that the poor people got benefits from the subsidy. Earlier, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, appreciated the efforts of Advisor on Interior for restoration and maintenance of law and order in GB. He also hailed the Gilgit-Baltistan government for introducing tax system, which would help increase domestic revenue generation, so critical for socio-economic development of the region. Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister Information & Broadcasting, underscored the importance of taking immediate measures to improve the law and order situation on durable basis. He said that the government’s massage in this regard should be loud and clear to all those who wanted to harm law and order. Senior Advisor on Interior Rahman Malik elaborated upon the steps taken to control the law and order situation in GB, adding that some arrests had been made of those who were responsible for gruesome killing on the roadside. The Governor and the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan urged the Federal Government to release the development funds at the earliest as they were engaged in revamping the administrative system in accordance with the requirements of good governance to ensure effective delivery of services to the people.