UK pledges 70Mln pounds for reconstruction in Quake-hit areas of Pakistan
By Raza Mumtaz - PakistanTimes.net Foreign Editor

LONDON (UK): The British government on Thursday pledged 70 million pound sterling ($120 million) for the reconstruction of the quake-ravaged areas of NWFP and Azad Kashmir, Department of International Development (DFID) sources said late on Thursday.

The junior DFID Minister Gareth Thomas left for Islamabad late on Thursday to represent Britain at the international donors conference, said the sources.

The new pledge brings the UK’s total support to Pakistan, for both relief and reconstruction, to over 100 million pound sterling, to date. Britain has become the second largest bilateral donor of post-earthquake relief funds (after the US).

The said amount would "be paid out over three years to help fund rebuilding in the quake- affected areas," DFID’s Secretary of State Hilary Benn said in a statement here on Thursday.

Fleeting Visit

Benn had paid a fleeting visit to quake-devastated areas last month and had stated on his return that the terrible quake had flattened towns and affected people were in urgent need of shelter.

Gareth Thomas before his departure to Islamabad said he hoped the British pledge would encourage other countries to follow suit with substantial reconstruction pledges of their own.●