PESHAWAR, Feb 4: The advisor to the prime minister on women’s development, Nilofer Bakhtiar, said on Saturday that an upcoming exhibition would help promote local products of skilled women and serve as a platform for introducing the same in the international market.

Talking to reporters at the inauguration ceremony of the book, “Quranic Verses Calligraphed by Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib” compiled by her husband Bakhtiarudin Ahmad at the Iranian Cultural Centre, Ms Bakhtiar said the present government had initiated many projects for the development of women’s lot and added that the “Women’s Expo 2006” would boost the morale of skilled women and open up new avenues for their development.

She said that a special train carrying handicrafts made by local skilled women would be run from Peshawar to Karachi from April 13 to 16 so as to showcase and display indigenous culture and skills to the world.

Ms Bakhtiar said she had always favoured women’s representation from Fata and suggested that a special quota be allocated for women of the tribal areas.

She said that NGOs working for the development of professional and skilled women had been invited to attend the workshop to ensure women participate in the forthcoming expo.

In reply to question, she said that special attention would be focused on training women elected as councillors. “Pakistan will be the first country in the world to have started this training,” she said. Ms Bakhtiar said that women councillors would be given honorarium.

Outlining measures taken by the present government to protect women, she said that women crisis centres had already been set up in Peshawar and Kohat and new centres would soon be established in Mardan, Swat and Abbotabad. Women resource centres are being set up for the welfare of womenfolk.

In reply to a question, she said the government was facing difficulties over implementation of laws relating to honour killings in the NWFP with special reference to the traditions of ‘wani’and ‘swara’ and maintained that the government was trying hard to ensure its execution. —APP