ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to provide all financial aid to the displaced people through parliamentarians of the affected areas in order to remove chances of misuse of funds.

According to the decision taken in a high-level meeting here Wednesday at the ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), the federal government would provide funds to Baitul Maal which will distribute the same amongst the MNAs of the army operations-hit areas including Swat, Malakand, Dir, Buner and Bajaur etc.

There were complaints from MNAs that they, as representatives of the areas, had been ignored while distributing aid amongst the IDPs. The parliamentarians chose Pakistan Baitul Maal as an institution which has an outstanding credibility in terms of distributing assistance amongst the displaced people.

The Federal Coordinator for IDPs MNA Asma Arbab Alamgir, who chaired the meeting, accepted their demands and it was decided that PBM will distribute the assistance amongst the MNAs for onward distribution amongst the affectees.

Participants of the meeting included Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, Federal minister for Safron Najmuddin Khan, MNAs Illauddin and Muzzafarul Maluk from Swat, Malik Azmat Khan from Lower Dir, Shaukat Khan from Bajaur, Istiqbal Khan from Buner and minority MNA Dr Araish.

All the MNAs from the affected areas will provide details of the IDPs of their areas to the chairman PBM Zamarud Khan within a week. The latter will prepare cheques in their names accordingly and provide the same to the concerned MNAs.

On this occasion, a few members also complained that some selfish elements take money from the PBM in the name of IDPs and then take their shares from it. The federal coordinator took serious notice of such complaints and directed the chairman Baitul Maal to hold an inquiry into it and take stern action against those involved in such fraud.

All the parliamentarians from the affected areas demanded that the whole of Malakand be declared calamity-hit. They also requested that the IDPs be provided identity cards as early as possible. The federal coordinator assured she would look into all options to resolve the issue in the best possible way. The National Data base Registration Authority will issue identity cards to all the affectees till 14, 15 July, 2009. She assured the parliamentarians that they would be taken into confidence with regard to distribution of financial assistance amongst the IDPs.

Chairman Baitul Maal requested the MNAs to help him in identifying the bogus IDPs and other fraudulent elements so that the process of aid distribution is further streamlined and made transparent.