Rs24 billion allocated for security in Malakand

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that sufficient funds had been allocated to strengthen the security forces to combat terrorism in Malakand.

Mr Gilani told reporters at the end of a visit to the provincial capital that Rs24 billion earmarked for strengthening police and the Frontier Constabulary would be paid in four equal instalments.

He said Rs6 billion had been given to the NWFP government to increase the capacity of law-enforcement agencies and equip them with better arms to fight terrorism.

This, he said, was part of an exit strategy under which civil law-enforcement agencies would eventually replace the military and maintain law and order in the region.

The prime minister said a special package of Rs50 billion had been approved for Malakand, but stressed that capacity building and strengthening of the security forces was a major issue.

He said a Rs2 billion development package for Malakand division would be finalised after consultations with the people concerned.

Commenting on Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif’s call for a referendum on renaming the NWFP as ‘Pukhtunkhwa,’ the prime minister said the matter was with a constitutional committee.

He said the NWFP assembly had adopted resolutions endorsing the call for renaming the province as Pukhtunkhwa and the Awami National Party had received people’s mandate on the issue.

‘We should respect each other’s mandate,’ he said, adding that the constitutional committee was the appropriate forum to settle political issues.

‘Nawaz Sharif is the leader of a political party and he is entitled to his views,’ the prime minister said.

Regarding the NWFP’s demand for payment of Rs110 billion arrears on account of net hydel profit, he said the matter was on the agenda of the National Finance Commission.

He announced that the displaced people who had not returned to their homes would be registered and those who had stayed in Malakand during the military operation would get food support.

APP adds: Addressing a seminar organised by the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to mark the International Literacy Day, the prime minister said the government had convened a meeting of chief ministers of the provinces in Islamabad on Wednesday for consultations about education policy.

‘Education is a provincial subject and the federal government wants to take all the chief ministers on board to come up with a comprehensive policy that meets the requirements of modern times,’ he added.

Mr Gilani inaugurated a literacy centre set up by the NCHD.

NCHD Chairperson Nafeesa Shah said that about 13,600 non-formal community schools would be set up in all districts to promote literacy rate, especially among women in rural areas. She said the government had allocated Rs7 billion for the next three years for the project. The project would provide employment to about 50,000 youths, especially in rural areas, she said.