June 05, 2006	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1427

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GUJRAT, June 4: A number of people affected by the Gulf War belonging to Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and Jhelum districts have contacted the National Accountability Bureau to help them get payment against their compensation claims.

They have moved after the failure of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation and the ministry of labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis to do the needful.

While many other claimants have contacted the United Nations Compensation Commission with a request to approve their claims and give them money.

Information gleaned by Dawn revealed that over 60,000 residents of the four districts were settled in Kuwait before its war with Iraq. A number of these expatriates had their own businesses and properties in Kuwait while many others were the government servants before the war commenced in 1990.

As a result of war, they had to quit Kuwait in miserable conditions leaving behind their hard-earned income either lying in banks or stuck in business and property. After the war, the Kuwait government announced that it would give compensation through the United Nations to those expatriates who lost their business and properties during war.

The expatriates submitted their claims, along with documents, from 1992 to 1995 with the OPF.

The first package of the compensation money was received by the government in 1999 and the amount was distributed among the claimants. Between 2000 and 2002, more claimants received the compensation but still there were many who claimed that they were yet to receive any compensation despite the fact that they had filed their claims in 1992.

They said former federal minister Abdul Sattar Laleka (late) had announced on July 22, 2003 that the UNCC had approved the Pakistani claim for distribution of money among the remaining 50,000 people hit by the Gulf War.

According to statement published in all newspapers on July 23, US $250 million would be distributed among claimants whose applications were accepted till Sept 30.

The minister said the government had filed an appellate case with the UNCC for recovery of compensation for the remaining people and the government had won the case after eight years. They quoted the minister as saying that “we have won the case by dint of successful foreign policy of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.”

Later, the department received over 30,000 applications of the late comers. It had informed them that the UN had given approval for submission of late claims from Pakistan and set Oct 31, 2003 as the last date for them. It said the UN would accept claims of those who were residing in areas running the risk of war, natural calamities and civil disorder.

These conditions had been set by the UN only to ascertain that if the claimants had never resided in the troubled areas in Pakistan, then why they remained unable to approach the offices of the OPF.

The affectees told Dawn that the department had compensated 824 claimants of A and C categories on March 20. They said the department had also displayed a list on March 11 containing names and addresses of the claimants to be paid the money but no claimant in the list was a resident of areas singled out by the UN.

In the wake of complaints against the department, the NAB had given an advertisement on Aug 11 asking the claimants to contact it for help. Sources said a majority of the claimants from Gujrat, Sialkot, Jhelum and Mandi Bahauddin had submitted applications to the NAB.

Applicants from Gujrat included Maqsood Dar, Ahmad Khan, Siddique Ahmad, Mirza Afzal, Inayat, Riaz, Ejaz, Boota, Riaz, Fayyaz Ahmad, Inayat Khan, Zafar Iqbal, Ahmad Din, Dad Muhammad and Aslam.