Musakhel, which was given the status of district just 5 years ago, needs a lot of inputs to make it a district in the real sense. Many of the offices have not yet been shifted to Musakhel town, the district headquarters. Many basic institutions, like a hospital, are still non-existent in the district. More than anything, very little data is available about the district, which poses a major obstacle to the development planning. From land use statistics to agricultural statistics, no data are either available or seem reliable. There are external as well as internal inconsistencies observed in the data. The last census figures available for the area are of 1981 when this area was a sub-division of Loralai district. Although some census figures are available at the sub-divisional level, most of the data are of cumulative nature for the whole former district. The housing characteristics are unavailable for Musakhel area. Girls were under-represented in the age group from 5 to 30 years, which shows, that the enumerators have not been able to get to the real picture. Since 1981, there has been no population census conducted anyway. It is obvious that data collection has to be improved. Development planning will benefit from reliable data, which may be collected, processed, aggregated and analysed at the lowest possible level, i.e. on district level or even lower. At this moment, however, there is no adequate infrastructure available for such exercise at the district level of government and below.

The role of local government institutions in Musakhel in development planning is limited, as these are rarely consulted in development activities. The fiscal balance of the district is deteriorating every year, as the district council’s income has decreased from 33.2 percent in 1993-94 to 17.3 percent of the total annual expenditure in 1995-96. The development budget is negligible (less than one percent), so the only hope is the provincial Public Sector Development Programme. Currently, development planning is mainly done from federal or provincial level down, without much involvement of the lower levels of government. Implementation of development activities is mainly done through the line departments. On district level, the Deputy Commissioner may play an active role through co-ordination, monitoring and enhancing accountability.

Keeping in view the average annual rainfall and area not yet explored for agriculture, it may be inferred that there is lot of potential in agriculture and livestock. Presently tomato and chillies are the most beneficial crops, in economic terms, which provide about three fourth of the total agricultural income. Efforts should be directed to increase the production of such crops. Livestock is another area which has great potential for development. There are plenty of pasture lands which surely have sustainable grazing capacity – although it could not be calculated – for livestock development.

Musakhel can provide skilled manpower for the neighbouring districts of Punjab and Balochistan, if vocational training is arranged for the local youth. A micro credit system and technical inputs may encourage the people to get engaged in small scale manufacturing and cottage industry.

At present, women in Musakhel do not have equal opportunities in almost all fields of life. Women contribute a lot to domestic economy, but their efforts are not accounted for. This invisibility is a constraint towards their development, which needs to be highlighted.

The district is deprived of telephone, electricity, and gas – basic amenities of life – and no attention is being directed towards these issues. The only black top road is a piece of National Highway, while all the other roads of Musakhel are shingle ones. Postal services are not available to all human settlements.

Less than ten percent of the population has access to safe drinking water. One third of the water supply schemes, constructed by the PHED, is not functioning. Unavailability of safe drinking water is one of the major causes for gastrointestinal diseases among adults and diarrhoea among children.

Musakhel may be the only district of the province where not a single medial officer – neither male nor female – serves the local population. The only hospital is under construction and other primary level health care facilities are run by paramedics. The centralised system of medicine procurement has its shortcomings as it cannot serve area-specific needs.

Girls within the district do not have equal educational opportunities, particularly in higher education. There is no girls’ college where girls can get education while abiding by their cultural values. Without female education, it may not be possible to get local female health or education professionals.

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