ABBOTTABAD, June 14: The Afghan refugees have made a worthwhile contribution to the economic growth of the province through the export of hand-knotted carpets produced in Pakistan.

This was stated by the provincial chief of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Sultan Tiwana. He was speaking as chief guest at the certificates distribution ceremony of the First Afghan Carpet Weaving Training Course for Women, organised by Society For Public Awareness & Development (SPADE) in collaboration with the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) here on Monday.

Former secretary forests Yar Mohammad Khan presided over the function, while regional programme manager of the SRSP Syed Jaffar Shah, Innayatullah Khan Jadoon, Nazim union council Kehal, Abbottabad, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, SPADE President Syed Kosar Naqvi and Abdur Rehman Shaheen also spoke on the occasion.

Lauding the efforts of SPADE and SRSP, Sultan Tiwana pointed out that this industry had progressively grown during the last few years and the potential of the industry strongly suggested that it would gain a respectable position after rice and leather sector.

He claimed that $130 million carpets were exported only from the NWFP during the previous year, saying that more than 100 commercial exporters were engaged in this lucrative business only in Peshawar.

He appreciated the skill attained by women, saying that Pakistan needed the skilled manpower and exporters would definitely come to them. He urged the SPADE staff to visit Peshawar and explore the possibilities of links with the local exporters as well as commercial institutions.

Tiwana informed the participants that the government was serious not only to eradicate poverty, but also increase the foreign exchange through exports.