Islamabad, July 03: Canada today announced an aid package worth Canadian dlrs 10.1 million to finance programmes in women's rights, education and HIV-aids care for Pakistani women and Afghan refugees. Canada's minister for international cooperation Susan Wehlan announced the package in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, after meeting Pakistani finance minister Shaukat Aziz and representatives of government and non-government agencies.
The funds will be channeled through the Canadian International Development Agency into joint programmes with various Pakistani organisations.
The programmes will "promote women's rights, health, education, political participation and economic empowerment in Pakistan," Wehlan told a news conference. She did not supply details of how the funds would be distributed. Part of the money will be directed at Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan, particularly for education.
"Through the initiative announced today, we are going to support the basic education needs of Afghan refugee children," she said.
Although hundreds of thousands of afghan refugees have returned home since the fall of the Taliban last year, more than one million Afghan refugees are still believed to be in Pakistan. Bureau Report