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The grant announced by the president is in addition to a Rs500 million fund
earlier announced by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for the IDPs.
‘President Zardari issued the order in view of the complaints lodged by
parliamentarians from Malakand regarding problems of IDPs and after meeting a
team of Pakistan American Congress on the issue of relief and rehabilitation of
the people living in camps on Saturday,’ presidential spokesperson Farhatullah
Babar told Dawn.
The spokesman said the delegations had apprised the president that although the
government had promised Rs25,000 for each displaced family, the IDPs were still
deprived of basic needs.
President Zardari, he said, was deeply concerned about the people living in the
camps and asked the government to step up the relief work with emphasis on
transparency, monitoring and accountability.
‘Relief and rehabilitation of the displaced persons is central to this fight,’
the President said, adding ‘It is a fight that will be pursued to its logical
conclusion and internally displaced persons were the heroes of the war against
militancy.’
The President directed that the district committees set up during his visit to
camps in Shah Mansoor near Swabi on Friday should begin working immediately and
that its members should be available to the people round the clock to redress
their problems.
‘Each and every internally displaced family and person will be rehabilitated in
their homes with honour and dignity.’
‘The displaced people will not stay in the camps indefinitely and will return to
their homes sooner than later and their properties damaged or destroyed by the
militants will be repaired and rebuilt by the government,’ the President
assured.
The President said the campaign for seeking international assistance will be
boosted during his forthcoming visit to Brussels to ask the EU summit for
massive assistance in the relief and rehabilitation operations.
He said the government will continued to be guided by its police of three Ds
namely Dialogue, Deterrence and Development as guiding principles in waging war
against militancy. This was a policy that had also been endorsed by the national
parliament, he said.
The President reiterated the government’s commitment to not allow the militants
impose their obscurantist agenda on the people through use of force, bullets and
guns.
Apart from setting up five district committees, the President has already
appointed an Additional Secretary to the President, Mohammad Shehzad Arbab, as
focal/contact person in the President’s Secretariat to deal with all IDPs
matters in the presidency. |
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