Senate condemns govt’s inability to adequately support victims of terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The government’s inability to adequately support the over timely provision of financial support to victims of terrorism was condemned by the Senate Special Committee on Marginalized Segments on Monday.

Chaired by Senator Nisar Mohammad, the committee looked upon details of efforts made by the government to address financial difficulties faced by families affected by terrorism.

Exasperated by insufficient responses from government officials, the committee forwarded their reservations to Senate chairman Raza Rabbani.

Officials of the finance ministry, however, suggested the committee that the matter did not coincide with the matters of their department, and details with more relevance might be present with the interior ministry.

The finance ministry’s response resulted in a plethora of criticism from members associated with different political parties.

Senator Dr Mohammad Ali Khan Saif of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement stated “it is the typical mindset of bureaucracy to delay and divert the issues”. “The real issue is improper system which is based on fudged figures,” he continued.

The finance secretary of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) enlightened the committee with statistics. He remarked, Rs400 million had been allotted to the victims of terrorism in Fata during the ongoing fiscal year 2016-17, out of which Rs200m was spent.

He added that Rs100,000 were given in grant to the injured, and Rs400,000 to the family of the deceased, while Rs10 billion was disbursed over two years for reconstruction of houses which included, Rs160,000 for a partially damaged house and Rs400,000 for reconstruction of the whole house.

Source: The Nation