Joint international efforts needed to ensure success in war against terrorism: PM
ISLAMABAD, Nov 16 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that the war against terrorism being fought by Pakistan is to be viewed as a global problem of peace and security and joint efforts are needed to ensure success. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting on Damage and Needs Assessment (DNA) in NWFP and parts of FATA here at the PM Secretariat on Monday.
The Prime Minister urged the
international donor community to come forward and help Pakistan for
early implementation of the DNA. He said that international donor
participation in fighting this war, rebuilding the infrastructure and
rehabilitating the affected people will convey good signal to the
people of Pakistan. The Prime Minister was informed
that the DNA report has been completed with the efforts of Provincial
Government Special Support Group, and the international financial
institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The report has quantified the
damages and the requirement for reconstruction and rehabilitation of
infrastructure services and livelihood. The Prime Minister was informed
that Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) is being undertaken for
harmonizing the DNA recommendations with the long-term needs of the
affected areas. PCNA deals with reconstruction and
restoration of judicial structure, law enforcement, accountability to
local population and institution building. The meeting was informed that a
“Strategic Oversight Council” has been set up under the chairmanship of
the Prime Minister with all stakeholders including Governor NWFP, Chief
Minister NWFP and DG Special Support Group to guide PCNA to act as
final decision making body. The Prime Minister expressed the
confidence that this will facilitate the international donor community
to mobilize resources to implement the recommendations. He said, “we need to put in place a comprehensive conflict risk management framework to avoid recurrence of this menace”. The Prime Minister said the
government will leave no stone unturned in implementing the final
recommendations to be made by DNA and PCNA effectively. He said the government has already finalized the policy and strategic imperatives for early and effective execution of DNA. The Prime Minister paid tribute to
the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, who have rendered huge
sacrifices for the security of the nation. The Prime Minister said that “let
us pledge together to emerge stronger and work till the full
realization of the targets we have set for us today”. In his opening remarks, Federal
Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen informed the meeting about the
report on the preliminary DNA prepared by the ADB and World Bank in
collaboration with the government of NWFP, development partners and the
civil society. Shakeel Qadir, DG, Provincial
Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority gave a
presentation on Damage Needs Assessment for immediate restoration and
medium term reconstruction in crisis affected areas. He briefed the meeting that Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) conducted a preliminary
DNA of the districts of Buner, Lower and Upper Dir, Shangla and Swat in
the NWFP along with two tribal agencies of Bajaour and Mohmand in FATA. He further briefed the meeting
that the DNA estimated the damage and reconstruction costs resulting
from the crisis. The DNA provides an assessment of the related economic
implications and indirect losses incurred, particularly in agriculture
and private sectors, for the immediate to medium-term reconstruction
and recovery phases. The DNA also assesses the
institutional capacities of the various sectors to undertake the
recommended reconstruction activities and provides guidance on the
scope and timeline of the immediate to medium term reconstruction
needed for each sector. Yusufa B. Crookes, Country
Director, World Bank, Pakistan gave a technical presentation on Trust
Fund created for this purpose. He said the main aim of creating this
fund is to ensure effective monitoring and transparency in spending of
funds. He informed that this will improve
governance at the local level while improving service delivery and
provincial economic management capacity. Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of
State for Finance and Economic Affairs, Rehman Malik, Minister for
Interior;, Owais Ghani, Governor NWFP, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Chief
Minister NWFP, Chairman Special Support Group and Chief Secretary NWFP
also attended the meeting. The foreign dignitaries who were
present during the meeting included Tim George, High Commissioner of
Australia, Randolph B. Mank, High Commissioner of Canada, Jens Jacob
Simonsen, Deputy Head of Mission of Denmark, Daniel Jouamrneau,
Ambassador of France, Dr. Michael Koch, Ambassador of Germany,
Vencenzo Prati, Ambassador of Italy, Joost Reintjes, Ambassador of
Netherlands, Shin Un, Ambassador of Republic of Korea, Abdul Aziz
Ibrahim Ali Ghadeer, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, Gulrika Sundberg,
Ambassador of Sweden, Pabur Hizlan, Ambassador of Turkey, Jan De Kok,
Ambassador of European Union, Fikret Akcure, UN Resident Coordinator,
Run Stroem, Country Director, Asian Development Bank, Yusupha B.
Crookes, Country Director, World Bank, George Turkington, Head of DFID
Pakistan, Robert Wilson, Mission Director, USAID, Martin Mogwanja, UN
Humanitarian Coordinator UNICEF, Ms. Marta Samper, Counsellor /Head of
Development Aid, Embassy of Canada, Pius Rohner, Country Director SDC,
Embassy of Switzerland, Thomaj Schaef, Country Director, GTZ and
Tomoharu Otake, Resident Representative, JICA.
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