February 19, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 20, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has asked the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education to come up with legislation to streamline functioning of local, foreign and international NGOs.

He said all NGOs should be registered and the registration rules should be simplified.

Presiding over a meeting to review goals and targets of the ministry, the prime minister appreciated the NGOs for contributing to the government’s efforts in the rehabilitation of earthquake-hit areas and said the local and foreign NGOs were assisting the government, in a commendable way, to bring improvement in every sphere of life.

However, he noted that there was a need to regulate their activities and ensure transparency in utilization of funds.

The prime minister also asked them to ensure that orphans from the earthquake-affected areas were not offered for adoption and were instead provided safe environment in the government or government-approved institutions.

He also asked the ministry to double the number of schools being run by them for children of low-income families.

He reviewed the implementation status of various goals assigned to the ministry including formulation of National Plan of Action (NPA) for persons with disabilities, computerization of special education centres, project on vocational training for disabled persons in Peshawar/Quetta and construction of Special Education Complex at Okara.

Mr Aziz appreciated the minister for providing ample opportunities for welfare and development of the vulnerable segment of the society including children, widows, special persons and senior citizens and for undertaking relief and rescue work in the affected areas in an exemplary manner.

Reviewing the goals and targets of science and technology ministry, the prime minister asked the ministry to expedite setting up of labs to provide safe drinking water to all by 2007, take steps for transforming PCSIR into a vibrant organization, strengthen Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and expedite work on rural electrification through renewable energy.

Mr Aziz was informed that the ministries of science and technology and environment as well as provincial governments were jointly working to provide safe drinking water to all by 2007 under the Khushal Pakistan Programme.

Under this project, the Ministry of Science and Technology will set up 24 water quality management labs and will establish water filtration plants. As many as 10,000 water supply schemes will be monitored by the ministry under this project.

The prime minister said Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) should be reinvigorated to assist the industrial sector to modernize it in accordance with the new research.

The meetings were attended by ministers of social welfare and special education, science and technology and seniors officials.