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PESHAWAR, Feb 20: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has called upon the federal government to provide the province its 75 per cent share from the President’s Fund for Afghan Refugees to undertake development and rehabilitation activities in areas hosting the refugees.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the chief minister said that Rs260 million was available in the President’s Fund for Afghan refugees in which the share of the NWFP came to 75 per cent based on the number of refugees living in different parts of the province, said a handout issued here on Tuesday.
He said that refugees were being repatriated to Afghanistan; hence development and rehabilitation of the hosting areas ought to be undertaken as soon as possible.
He said the province had been hosting 4.2 million Afghan refugees since 1979.
“A large number of Afghan refugees have adversely affected the overall infrastructure of the province and rehabilitation and restoration of social and civic sectors, including health, education, agriculture, sanitation and reforestation, are urgently needed for the benefit of local people,” he emphasised.
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION: In a separate letter, Mr Durrani asked Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz to direct the authorities concerned to construct what he called a ‘much-needed’ bridge on the Daratang-Chasma road to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
He said the NWFP government had constructed a road from Daratang Lakki Marwat to Mianwali, the bordering district connecting the NWFP with Punjab.The highway would connect the district headquarters Mianwali via Chashma Barrage with the NWFP and reduce about a distance of 40 kilometres between the two provinces, he said.
“A stream crossing the road in the Punjab portion of the highway gets flooded during rains and leads to suspension of traffic,” Mr Durrani pointed out.
He said a bridge should be built over the stream to facilitate traffic between the two provinces.
