$4bn peace plan for NWFP
PESHAWAR, May 1: Chief Minister of NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti will unveil a $4 billion peace plan that envisages a 30 per cent reduction in militancy within three years, retrieval of the areas lost to militants and improvement in the writ of the state, according to a document obtained by Dawn.
The plan, put together by a task force of the Awami National Party, envisions a peace jirga comprising provincial ministers and legislators.
The government has set up a peace committee for Malakand to restore peace in Swat but the plan proposes a larger jirga with its terms of reference outlined.
Sources said the chief minister would unveil the plan in the NWFP assembly, to be convened soon.
The speech will outline the objectives of the plan reducing the level of insurgency in the province by 30 per cent within three years, including attacks on security forces and suicide and roadside bombings, reclaiming areas lost to militants and strengthening the writ of the state.
It envisages an increase in the number of police personnel by 8,000 men and Frontier Constabulary by 6,000.
It seeks reforms in police, revival of executive magistracy, support for the recently-established regional coordinating officers and 10 Regional Peace Conferences of Ulema.
A member of the task force said a donors conference would be convened to finance the peace plan.
He said some countries had already shown interest in financing the plan.
There is a great deal of interest. The Saudis, Americans, European Union, Scandinavians and Chinese have all shown interest in the peace plan, said Khalid Aziz who played a key role in drafting the plan.
Mr Aziz, a former chief secretary and head of the Regional Institute of Policy Research and Training, is a member of the task force co-chaired by ANPs Afrasiab Khattak and another retired civil servant, Humayoun Khan.
It includes MNA Bushra Gohar, academician Ijaz Khan, Mohammad Raza Khan, Bacha Khan Education Trust chief Zubaida Khatoon and Ijaz Anwar, a chartered accountant.
The plan provides for creation of a permanent Provincial Peace Board to oversee, review, discuss, analyse and recommend actions to restore peace.
The eight-page document calls for setting up a board to help implement a media strategy in communities and social circles and work towards improving the monitoring and communication network.
It includes the setting up of 1,000 community FM radio stations.
It also provides for creation of a board for legal and institutional changes to suggest reforms to address the larger issue of delivery of justice not only through institutional reforms but also by developing an alternative dispute resolution system.
It includes a plan for the capacity building of police and Frontier Constabulary and training and raising their strength.
A social, economic and psychological rehabilitation programme for 12,000 militants is also planned.
The plan proposes a Provincial Livelihood Programme to develop income-generation strategy.
It calls for introduction of social sector reforms, including syllabus reforms and a health insurance scheme.
It provides for generation of employment through a labour-intensive infrastructure development programme, setting up corporations in fruit, vegetables, agriculture and livestock sectors and re-establishment of the Industrial Investment and Revival Corporation.
It includes a Rs600 million Rural Mobilisation Endowment Fund, formation of 5,000 village peace committees, micro-credit schemes at the community level and skill development projects in 500 seminaries.
The peace plan envisages creation of 7,000 jobs annually for the three-year period and 10,000 daily-wage jobs annually through public works.
It calls for closer coordination and a mechanism for institutional support among various state organs involved in security cover, including the military, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and police.
Mr Aziz , however, acknowledged that the NWFP did not have the capacity to implement such an all-encompassing plan.
At present, the province has the capacity to spend and utilise up to $800 million, according to available record.
The government will have to hire people from private sector to increase its capacity and spend the money through communities to achieve the desired results, said Mr Aziz.
He underlined the need for taking a holistic view of the situation in the NWFP in terms of the situation in Afghanistan and the tribal region.
You cannot view the situation in the NWFP in isolation, he said, adding that the success of the plan would also depend on the overall political and economic reform package for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the revival, strengthening and integration of the Pakistan-Afghan Peace Jirga.
Commenting on the peace plan, Chief Minister Hoti told Dawn: The international community needs to understand that instead of firing a multi-million dollar missile that causes collateral damage it is better to invest that money to improve the lives of the people. They need to send out a powerful message to the people that this whole war on terror is not just about killing, its also about changing their lives for the better.He was optimistic that international donors would respond to his call for contributing to the plan.
He said he had told the British foreign minister that the international community needed to invest in education, health and drinking water projects to improve the lives of the people.
I was told by a western diplomat that the bureaucracy in their country was like a slow-moving elephant and I told them that the elephant needs to run a bit faster now. We need help and its urgent.
$4bn peace plan for NWFP -DAWN - Top Stories; May 02, 2008
