Foreign aid to be used for reconstruction of schools: Gilani

Prime Minister says funds from Friends of Pakistan, World Bank to be used for construction of thousands of schools.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said that the government is directing foreign aid towards the reconstruction of schools destroyed by the Taliban and that education was its top priority.

Speaking during the National Assembly session, Gilani said that the funds received from the Friends of Pakistan Fund, World Bank and other foreign donors will be used for the construction of thousands of schools.

He said that the Taliban were against education and had destroyed hundreds of schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, depriving children of education.

More than 940 schools for girls and boys have been completely or partially destroyed by militants in the province since 2007. Militants have also destroyed 419 government schools in Fata over the years.

Gilani said that forming a strategy against terror attacks was impossible due to their unpredictable nature.

The Prime Minister also announced the formation of a victim's welfare trust along the lines of an Army Welfare trust.

He also informed the house that he had taken notice of target killings in Karachi and sought a report from the Inspector General of Police (IG) Sindh and the Home Minister.