Victims of terror: Businessmen handed compensation cheques after two-year delay

Millions paid to give traders a chance to restart their work.

PESHAWAR: After a two-year delay, traders affected by terrorism were finally compensated by the provincial government at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) on Monday. The money will provide them an opportunity to restart their businesses. 

Senior minister Sikandar Hayat Sherpao distributed cheques worth Rs40.37 million among 80 traders from different parts of the province. Other government officials and traders were present on the occasion.

Sherpao urged the federal government to improve trade relations with Afghanistan so Peshawar, an important trade route, can play its role in the modern world and help revitalise the country’s economy.



The financial support was provided under the Economic Revitalisation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA (ERKF), a donor project which focuses on the recovery of businesses and supports traders affected by war.

Struggling sector

The project came to a halt two years ago and was handed over to NAB to investigate suspected irregularities, said Anjuman-e-Tajran President Sharafat Ali Mubarak. While addressing the cheque distribution ceremony at the KPCCI office, he said traders were in dire need of support which was not provided on time.

“These traders were first affected by bomb blasts and then the delaying tactics of the K-P government.” He added financial support extended to them by the international community had not been distributed as yet.

The ERKF is being run with the support of the K-P Industries department. Mubarak added there were still some cheques awaiting government approval before they can be handed to traders.

KPCCI President Zulifiqar Ali Khan said the chamber’s struggle resulted in the provincial government releasing Rs170 million for traders whose businesses were affected by bomb blasts. He added the ERKF project only provided Rs20 million earlier to affected traders of the Qissa Khwani bazaar blast.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2015.