Centre doubles funds for KP govt under Kerry Lugar Act

PESHAWAR The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments protest over meagre amount of funds under Kerry Lugar Act is bearing fruit as the centre has decided to almost double the funds for the provincial government. A letter sent to the provincial government by the Economic Division has informed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of increasing the funds from $60.59 million to $120 million. The letter also stated that the provincial government would be taken on board for its views on this increase and for the matter it has been invited to discuss the matter. Keeping in view the increase, the payment of funds earlier allocated for the province has been halted and now the payment with increased amount will start by the next month. The federal government has already received the first tranche of the aid amounting to over $800 million under this act. Earlier, the centre allocated $60.59 million funds for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of the aid received by Pakistan under Kerry Lugar Act from the US. This amount meant to be paid to the province in the current month however the provincial government objected to allocation of meagre amount of funds to the province besides some strings attached to it. The KP government also expressed its concerns in this regard to the former US ambassador in Pakistan arguing the province despite being one of the most militancy-hit areas of Pakistan was ignored while allocating funds.

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