Sunday, November 08, 2009
By Aftab Maken
ISLAMABAD: A big chunk out of $663 million worth of pledges made by the international community for internally displaced persons of Swat has been disbursed through an unspecified mode while the remaining has come under the umbrella of United Nations, NGOs and government, reveals an official document on Saturday.
The international community comprising 27 nations has disbursed $427 million through unspecified channels, $191 million through UN agencies, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and non-governmental organisations and the remaining $46 million through the Prime Minister’s Special Relief Fund, the document showed.
The total pledges of $663 million for the IDPs of Swat included $646 million in the form of grant, $13.8 million as loan and $45.43 million for the PM fund for relief of victims of terrorism, according to the document available with The News.
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin also confirmed to The News that most of the pledges by the friendly countries had been released.
The US topped the list with the release of $330 million while the European Commission stood second with $102 million, followed by the UK with $34 million.
Norway pledged $24 million, Japan $34 million, Germany $27 million, Canada $30 million, Australia $18 million, Afghanistan, Russia and China $1 million each, Denmark $2.8 million, France $17 million, Finland $5.3 million, Greece $0.001 million, Italy $2.23 million, Ireland $0.76 million, South Korea $0.50 million, the Netherlands $2.78 million, Oman $12 million, Qatar $0.36 million, Singapore $0.06 million, Sweden $7.6 million, Turkey $10 million and the UAE $0.27 million.
UN agencies comprising the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and others were given $134 million while the ICRC and NGOs received $59 million for their operation in areas where the IDPs were shifted, the document said.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
