RIYADH, Oct 19: A massive fund-raising campaign for Afghan refugees has been initiated here in the kingdom.

Saudi Television in a telethon to generate funds for the victims of the Afghan war brought together a panel with 20 phone lines to take calls from donors, both inside and outside the kingdom. On Friday, an amount of 67 million riyals had already been raised.

This included a personal contribution of SR10 million by King Fahd, SR5 million by Crown Prince Abdullah, SR3 million by Prince Sultan and SR1 million each by Prince Naif, Prince Salman and Prince Muteb each.

Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, Chairman of Kingdom Holdings also announced a donation of SR9 million during the campaign. He had also presented a cheque of SR10 million to the New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for the victims of the attack on World Trade Center. Mayor Giuliani later declined to accept the donation because of his remarks on the Israeli aggression and terrorism in Palestine.