Islamabad, Dec 31 (IANS) Pakistan and the US Thursday inked a pact under which Washington will grant an initial tranche of $55 million (Rs.4.5 billion) for the reconstruction of the South Waziristan agency where the armed forces are currently engaged in a major anti-Taliban operation.
Habib Ullah Khan, additional chief secretary of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Robert Wilson, director of USAID signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments at a ceremony witnessed by Sibtain Fazal Halim, secretary, Economic Affairs Division and US ambassador Anne W. Patterson.

The pact is part of strategic agreements worth $899 million signed by the two governments on Sep 30, Online news agency reported.

The funding will be provided directly to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) secretariat and will be utilised by the Frontier Works Organization, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and other local agencies to rebuild roads, develop water infrastructure and improve the power system.

The FATA secretariat functions under the NWFP government.

“The US is committed to the reconstruction efforts through direct support to the government of Pakistan,” ambassador Patterson said.

“Due to the commitment and efforts of the people of South Waziristan, the Pakistan military and civilian agencies, the militants have been forced to retreat. Now, it is time to rebuild South Waziristan,” she added.

The US government is the largest provider of assistance to FATA, over the past two years having spent more than $100 million on infrastructure, education, health, and economic growth projects throughout the region.

In addition, the US has provided more than $300 million to help the people displaced by the fighting in FATA and the NWFP.

The Pakistani armed forces had gone into operation in South Waziristan in October and have reported considerable success in their anti-Taliban operations.

Prior to this, the armed forces had launched an offensive against the Taliban in the Malakand division of the NWFP in April, an operation that continued for six months, with the military now saying that the area has been cleared of the militants.

–Indo-Asian News Serivce

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