April 24, 2002	Wednesday	Safar 10, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, April 23: Overseas Pakistanis will contribute $50 million to improve literacy rate and considerably alleviate poverty during the next three-year period.

“Initially we have managed $2.5 million dollars from the Overseas Pakistanis and we have been assured of having 50 million dollars soon for improving social indicators in the country,” said Minister of State and Chairman of National Commission on Human Development Dr Nasim Ashraf.

Talking to Dawn here on Monday, he said that Overseas Pakistanis had promised to substantially contribute to help government meet difficult challenges such as acute poverty and high illiteracy rate.

The annual income of 3.5 Overseas Pakistanis, he pointed out, was 65 billion dollars which was close to Pakistan’s overall GDP. “And we are mobilising our Pakistani brothers living abroad so that they could generously contribute to support our education, health and poverty alleviation programmes.”

Dr Nasim, who himself is an Overseas Pakistani and has lived in the United States for 33 years, was first appointed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf as the head of the Task Force on Human Development and later he was made president of the National Commission on Human Development.

He said President Musharraf had set up a Trust Fund for which Rs2 billion had initially been provided by the government to the National Commission on Human Development. “The president has now promised to make available Rs6 billion in the next three years for effectively improving social indicators,” he added.