March 12, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 11: Pakistan has obtained a loan of $350 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Access to Justice Programme which was designed to support judicial, legal and police reforms.

The National Assembly was informed about it in a written reply of a question raised by MNA Mian Mohammed Aslam regarding the mark up and repayment period of the loan.

He had further asked a question that whether any senior officer of Law Ministry was transferred for not agreeing to sign the MoU for the loan.

Replying to these question the law minister said that the loan was released from two different heads including the ADB’s Special Fund Resources (ADF) and Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR).

He said that the loan was given on separate terms and conditions as $85 million were given under the ADF and it would be retired in 24 years including eight-year grace period.

The minister said that during the grace period commission at the rate of one per cent and thereafter an interest at the rate of 1.5 per cent would be charged.

Similarly, $265 million were released under the OCR which would be repaid within 15 years including three-year grace period.

It was informed that the loan would be utilized for improvement of the judicial governance, strengthening and capacity building of judicial institutions, ensuring efficient and inexpensive justice, legal empowerment of poor, improving human resource development and raising gender and human rights awareness.

The proceeds of the loan would also be spent on improvement and capacity building of subordinates as well as superior judiciary, police, Ombudsman, Federal Judicial Academy, and Law and Justice Commission, the house was informed.

The National Assembly was told that no officer of the Law Ministry was transferred for not agreeing to sign MoU for the loan. However, a deputy secretary was repatriated in January, 2002 in normal course.