ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has accorded approval to restructuring of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and called for a more professional and efficient management of religious sites and development of the assets held by the board.

He was attending a presentation made by Lt-Gen (Retd) Zulfiqar Ali Khan at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday.

The prime minister praised the restructuring plan submitted to him and expressed the hope that it would help bring in world class professional management at the religious sites.

He directed the board to ensure proper management of Sikh and Hindu religious sites located across the country and said that necessary facilities be extended to the pilgrims visiting the sites in large numbers every year.

Pakistan had some of very important religious sites of the minorities and it is the duty of the board to ensure their hassle-free management, he added.

He said that the management should be made more professional and transparent and unmanageable assets be gotten rid of. He added that private sector should be inducted into the board for that purpose.

Mr Aziz directed the board to explore the possibility of constructing an appropriate hotel in or around Taxila or Hassan Abdal to provide better lodging to the Sikh and Buddhist pilgrims.

He said that proper accommodation facilities around religious sites would help promote religious tourism.

He stressed the need of having a database of evacuee properties in the country and matters related to them.

He appreciated the contribution made by members of minority communities to the relief of earthquake-hit people.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq, Secretary Ministry of Law Justice (Retd) Mansoor Ahmad and Secretary Establishment Ejaz Rahim.