Saturday, July 02, 2011

PPP-S seeks establishment of ‘trust’ to help terror-stricken families

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People Party-Sherpao Central Chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao will introduce a bill in the National Assembly to establish a trust for the victims of terrorism to address the question of “lack of adequate compensation.”

Hoping the treasury benches will support his initiative, Aftab Sherpao wrote a letter to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani last month to express the desire for the trust he believes will meet the terror-stricken families’ long-term needs. “I am confident that if we are successful in establishing an independent and credible organisation, the people of Pakistan and the international community will donate generously to it,” Sherpao wrote in the letter obtained by Daily Times on Friday. The letter also aimed at removing “misunderstanding of the demand” Sherpao made during his budget speech. “Hence, I wrote this letter to clarify what I had said and to convey to you (PM) what in my view would be adequate measures for helping these families”. According to figures provided by the government, around 35,000 people were killed in terror-linked incidents since the country plunged into terrorism-linked violence in 2006. The government pays the victim families a lump sum amount, which the PPP-S central chairman said was “inadequate.” The trust would provide the victims with “long-term support” and “allow them to sustain themselves,” the letter said. “I feel the current method of compensating victims is completely inadequate,” Sherpao told the prime minister through the letter. “The compensation money is realised after long delays, if at all, leaving the poor victims struggling to get on their feet,” he went on to clarify. staff report

 

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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